Star Fox: How We Survive
by silencedfox86
Summary: Chapter 8: Broken Wings. A year has passed, Corneria is a wasteland, and the Star Fox team is on the run. Can Fox McCloud find the answers he's looking for? Can he stop the new terror that has plagued the Lylat System?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Hey everyone, thanks for clicking on my fic! Please R&R! thanks.**

_**Star Fox: How we survive**_

**Chapter 1: Greet death.**

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"DAMN YOU FOX McCLOUD!" Andross screamed as he exploded after Fox landed his final shot.

"YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON?! I WILL NOT DIE WITHOUT TAKING YOU WITH ME!!"

The destruction of Andross set off a chain reaction in the base where the final battle took place between the two. Fox pulled a half loop and full throttled it towards the way he flew in. Flames all around him the temperature spiked and Fox started sweating like crazy as his heart raced faster and faster.

"Come on Fox you didn't come this far to die this way." He thought to himself as he pushed his Arwing to the limit with flames and explosions engulfing everything he passed by.

His arwing started to shake violently as different alarms started to sound signaling the ship just couldn't take anymore abuse. Fox life started to flash before his eyes and time seemed to slow down. His childhood, the death of his mother, the military, flight school, being with his father, the death of his father, all his friends, and damn near everything he ever been through played out before his eyes... Then it all came back, time sped back up and all of of Fox's senses were back in tune. The tunnel Fox was flying through was collapsing on him and burning twisted metal fell all around. One large piece struck the right wing on his Arwing, ripped it off, and sent the ship into a spiral.

"Oh Shit! No, come on baby just a little further." Fox yelled as he struggled to get the broken arwing back under control.

Finally the light at the end of this tunnel showed its self to Fox.

"Almost... there!"

Almost every alarm was going off in his cockpit and it caused Fox to lose his hope of surviving.

"NO! OH SHIT!"

Flames totally surrounded his ship, he couldn't see anything and the eject light started flashing on his HUD but that was suicide. He loosened his grip on his flight controls... he wasn't going to make it. His cockpit hatch started to crack, small lines started to spiderweb all over the glass.

"This is Bad."

The thrusters died because of over heating and the Arwing started to shake even harder now.

"Oh man, this is _really _bad."

The hatch started to crack like crazy as Fox shielded his face with his arms and closed his eyes on instinct and waited for death to come but suddenly the all the fire around the ship subsided and the light from Venom's pale sky filled the cock pit... He made it.

The ship arched out of the flames that shot into the sky and Fox grabbed the controls with some new hope instilled in him. The ship started to go into a nose dive, the thrusters were still out. He had to think fast. The Arwing arched over and was now barreling towards the planet below gaining velocity. Fox pulled hard on the controls trying to get the nose to come up, maybe he could glide it to the ground. No, the Arwing was to heavy and going to fast already. The breaks still worked but the ship was going just to fast for them to do anything.

Fox eyed his altitude gauge, 1300 feet.

"This is _not_ going how I imagined it." Fox said trying to get the thrusters back on line.

1000 feet.

"Come on, Come on. Please!!" Fox yelled punching the ignition over and over.

800 feet.

Suddenly the com channels lit up again. "Fox what's going on? Are you alright? We saw the explosion from orbit! Do you copy Fox?" It was peppy

600 feet.

"PEPPY, I READ YOU, I'M GOING DOWN, MY...MY THUSTERS ARE OUT. I THINK...YEAH I THINK GOTTA BAIL SO GET THE GREAT FOX DOWN HERE. ILL SET OFF A DESTRESS SIGNAL. I WON'T BE TO FAR OFF FROM ANDROSS'S BASE." Fox yelled over the the Arwing screaming out of control.

"Fox I can barely hear you! What's going on?"

"I...AM...GOING...DOWN GOD DAMMIT!!"

"FOX?!" The com channel cut out. There was to much interference between the dense atmosphere of Venom and the Great Fox orbiting the planet for anything to get through.

400 feet

"COME ON!!" Fox hit the ignition one more desperate time before he would decide to eject and to his surprise the thrusters roared to life.

"Oh man I can't believe it! Ha-ha oh man Falco is never gonna live up to this." He laughed out.

Fox pulled hard on the flight controls and the nose started to come up

200 feet.

"This is gonna be close." Fox thought to himself as he was sweating bullets and his heart beating so hard it felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.

Some thing was wrong through. The arwing was struggling to nose up and it was some what leaning to the left. Fox looked over his right shoulder...He forgot something...The right wing was gone.

100 feet...

Fox flipped the distress signal switch.

50 feet...

It was to late to eject.

20 feet...10...5...

Fox braced for impact.

"Shit..."

Zero...

Fox was able to get the spacecraft level to the planet when the bottom of it slammed into dirt sending it toppling out of control breaking everything else off that was still attached to the fuselage. Had he hit nose 1st it would have just crumpled like someone stepping on a soda can. Fox was still conscious but all he could do was hold on as the world just spun out of control out side of the now shattered cockpit hatch. It was so loud; the sound of the Arwing smashing to pieces as it rolled and tumbled over the barren waste land; Fox could barely take it. Although he just defeated the biggest threat in the entire Lylat system, he didn't feel like he was the victor at the moment. He felt like he was just shot down, was about to die, and he was the one who lost.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the ship did one more flip, landed belly down, and came to an abrupt halt which forced Fox to smash his forehead into the controls giving him a mild concussion. The blow cut him open, blood running down his face and staining his uniform. The world was still spinning out of control and the sickening taste of blood was in his mouth. He started to look around him trying to figure out if he was still alive or not. He slowly reached to undo his 5-point harness that finally got its chance to do its job.

"Thank god for seat belts." He thought.

"Okay, let's see if I broke anything else besides my freaking head... god damn." He said as he wiped the blood from his eyes.

He looked him self over and didn't see evidence of anything else that was broken or sprained but he was painfully sore all over.

"I guess...I made it." Fox chuckled out with disbelief.

Fox pulled out his small field medical kit all the Arwings had inside their cockpits, pulled out some gauss and bandages, and wrapped up is head. He was bleeding so much he had to stop it or he would probably pass out.

Fox tried the com link, "Peppy, anyone, do you copy? This is Fox, over?"

He heard no response.

"You guys read me?"

Nothing but static.

"Crap."

Nothing seemed to be working in the arwing but that didn't surprise Fox after that crash. The small l.e.d lights that showed the distress signal was being put out was a bit comforting however.

Fox just sat there for a moment, quiet, listing to the wind howl and feel it blow through his fur. He looked to the sky to see if maybe the Great Fox was on it's way; if his friends were coming to save him from this waste land of a planet. All he saw was the huge plume of smoke that came from the inside of Andross's base.

Fox slowly climbed up out of his seat, balanced him self on the edge of the cockpit and jumped down to the ground below. He stumbled forward a bit when he landed and nearly fell to his knees; he felt so weak his legs almost gave out.

"Man, that crash really took it out of me." He said to him self weakly.

He turned to his Arwing, took a few steps back, and saw a sight that made him sick to his stomach. There was really nothing left of it. The fuselage was some what bent in half from hitting the ground and now both wings were gone. Pieces of the ship were everywhere; there was barely anything left of it at all. Fox just stared at it with his arms folded in front of him still not being able to grasp how it stayed together enough to save his life; he should have died from a crash like that.

Smoke started coming out of the rear of the ship.

Suddenly the Arwing erupted in fire engulfing the cockpit and the rest of the mangled spacecraft. Fox's jaw dropped. If he would have stayed in the Arwing, we would have been cooked alive.

Fox had cheated death before, but not like this. It was almost like someone was watching over him and keeping himself safe; maybe his father; maybe not. He could have just waited in his ship in the mean time but something compelled him to get out of it. It was indeed a miracle that he was still alive and breathing rather than dead inside of the downed ship.

"Peppy is gonna be really, really pissed about this."

There was no way they could salvage the Arwing now. By the time the Great Fox could get to him there would be nothing left of it and it depressed Fox a little because it was _his _ship and now he had nothing to fly. Sure they could have a new one built but that would cost as much as the entire bill they were going to charge General Pepper for this job.

"Man, this is such bull shit! I should be...I should be celebrating right now on the Great Fox but instead this freaking happened and here I am stranded on Venom.

Fox was getting angry at him self.

"What hell!? Why does that happen every time? Why can't he just die? No, he has to freaking blow everything up with him as well and majorly jack up my ship in the process... But whatever, I still defeated him, I'm alive, and he is gone for good now."

Fox turned to the smoldering, distant, structure that was once Andross's base.

"Yeah that's right! YOU are dead! Not me you stupid ape! You don't got shit on me Andross." Fox yelled out at the top of his lungs towards the wreckage.

Fox usually wasn't one to be cocky but at this moment it felt right so there was no holding back.

"Your army you sent to Coneria?! No problem. We wasted all of them! Even your Attack cruiser and that stupid walker you had out in the woods? We took it down. Oh! Then the Fleet you had in Sector-Y? We blew through that also! We took down EVERYTHING. The meteor field, Katina, Aquas, Fortuna, Sector X, Zoness, Macbeth, Titania...uhh, Bolse Defense Station, and your bullshit Area 6!! And lets not forget your bio weapon you had on Solar because we shut down that operation too. Oh! And your ace pilots for hire, _Star Wolf? _Yeah they're dead too. You're all fucking DEAD!" He yelled out in a very animated way; using his arms and motions as he ranted on.

"But not _ME_!" Fox Screamed out with his fists clenched.

Fox took a deep breath and let out a very heavy sigh he dropped his arms to his sides.

"Man that felt good; I feel so much better now."

Then he looked to the sky.

"Where are you guys?"

Distant thunder boomed off in the distance as massive thunder heads started to roll in from the west. Fox looked around him and saw nothing but open desert for miles. Fox needed to find shelter from the fast approaching storm because when it rains on Venom, It's not a good thing. Usually it's rain thats so dirty and contaminated you would need a bio-hazard suit or the water that fell from Venom's highly polluted sky's would would ravage your body with disease. Or it could be the worse alternative; acid rain that would burn right through your skin. Andross's army didn't really have out posts for soldiers on Venom's surface because it was so uninhabitable and the frequent toxic rain.

Fox could see the rain start to fall in this distance as more thunder cracked and boomed becoming louder now. There was no shelter here so Fox had to start moving and hope he could keep ahead of the storm long enough until the rest of the team could come pick him up.

Fox searched the sky around him again hoping to see the Great Fox coming to his rescue.

Nothing. Not a thing that looked like a rescue at all was seen.

Then Fox began to wonder if the distress signal even got out because of all the interference between the Great Fox and his Arwing. Or maybe they though he was killed in the crash after that last broken com link transmission.

"Nah, they wouldn't just leave me here like that. Dead or alive they would come for me." He reassured him self.

A strong gust of wind blew through his fur; it was time to go. Fox started to walk in the opposite direction of the storm. His whole body was extremely sore from the crash and it hurt to move in any fashion but he had to keep moving in hopes to not get caught in the toxic rain that was falling in the distance.

He walked for about 30 minutes, his eyes searching the horizon for some kind of shelter from the incoming storm. His vision started to become impaired and his tounge was sticking to the inside of his mouth, he was dehydrated. He kept on treading through the endless desert but then came to an abrupt halt when he tripped on a rock and fell to his hands and knees. He cough and sputtered out some blood and then fell to his side as his head started to spin. Who knows what other internal injuries he got from the crash but signs of them were starting to become apparent. He rolled on his back staring up into the bleak, pail green sky still hoping to see his team coming to pick him up but still nothing. Fox was severely dehydrated now, his mouth bone dry and he felt like he was going to throw up.

As he looked up into the sky he saw the clouds up above, the storm caught up with him.

"They left me behind" He thought to him self.

Fox was a mess. His bandage on his head was blood soaked and he didn't have any more to replace them with because the rest of his field kit was burned in the ship. He was now coughing up blood every so often and he was now very dehydrated and started to think irrationally.

"I can't believe they did this to me. How could they leave me here to die like this? How could they leave their leader down here to rot."

He started to lose his mind.

"Star FOX. That's what it's called! They can't have Star Fox with out this son of a bitch! Oh no they can not." He frustratingly said to him self.

The rain started to fall.

"Like father like son I guess."

Fox curled up into a ball with the rain starting to fall harder and harder.

He was never scared of death before but given the situation he was in the thought of it scared him to death. He had no idea what the rain would do to him.

He just laid still in the rain for about an hour waiting for something, anything to come save him.

"FOX!" A familiar voice called out.

Fox's head snapped around and saw peppy standing before him.

"Fox?! Are you okay? We have been looking every where for you!"

Fox was shocked out of his mind at what he saw. It just couldn't be peppy; not just like that out of thin air... But he was so real.

"Fox... what's wrong? It's me."

"You...Your not real. You can't be."

"Fox I'm sorry about your father. I did everything I could."

"What... what are you talking about?"

"You can stay with me if you want. Your always welcome at my home."

Fox rolled on his stomach and started to crawl towards the old hair.

"Fox, these things just happen. It's part of what your father and I do."

Fox was at Peppy's feet now. He reached out his hand hoping to be helped up. Maybe he was real after all.

"Please Peppy, Help..me.."

He just stood there looking down on Fox, staring him dead in the eyes.

Fox Struggled to his knees.

"WHY WON'T YOU HELP ME?!" He screamed out.

Suddenly thunder cracked over head and in a flash peppy was gone.

Fox looked all around searching for him but he was gone. He was just a hallucination after all. The rain started to pour now and Fox was becoming drenched.

His was losing his head.

"Well well how the mighty have fallen."

"F-Falco?"

Now it was Falco that stood before him with a menacing smile on his face.

"I knew you couldn't do it McCloud, I just knew it!"

Fox knew his mind was lost so he just ignored him as he sat on his knees; hunched over in the pouring rain.

"Yea here you are, crying your heart out. Help me, oh please help me." Falco said in a evil yet humorous tone.

Fox looked up at him with a grimace on his face.

"Shut up you stupid bird. Your not real."

"You were always a second rate pilot Fox. Honestly I think the team wouldn't have made it past _Corneria _if it weren't for me."

Fox clenched his fists

Falco continued, "Yeah your just full of luck McCloud and nothing more. Your not the leader of this team, I am. Your just a stupid loser that dropped out of flight school to avenge your old man. Your just a failure Fox; just like your father."

"Shut the hell up! How dare you say that!! You are not real!" Fox screamed.

Falco grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, brought Fox to his feet, pulled him close so they were face to face, then took out his blaster and pushed it against Fox's head.

"Do I look real now?"

Lighting flashed as thunder cracked and boomed.

Fox now had no idea what was going on. His eyes were wide and his heart was racing so fast it felt like it would explode out of his chest. Was this a hallucination? Or was he really there? He could feel the cold steel of Falco's blaster against his head; maybe this _was_ really happening. Or maybe he was in hell.

Fox mustered up the strength to speak, "Falco. Why...why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you? I thought you were my friend."

There was a moment of silence and then Falco's face turned from rage to utter sadness. He loosened his grip on Fox's shirt and lowered his blaster to his side. Fox stumbled back away from him, still very confused about the whole ordeal.

The rain continued to steadily pour from the sky.

Falco's expression on his face went blank and his eye started to twitch.

Then he spoke," You give so much. They take everything from you. Then they pat you on the back and tell you that you did a good job even though you have done terrible things."

Fox replied," What the hell are you talking about? We did the right thing! We saved the entire system!"

"There's to much blood on our hands now, Fox."

"I don't, I don't understand." Fox said

"They never _wanted_ us to understand."

Blood started to seep from his wing tips forming small puddles of it at his feet. Fox noticed his hands were feeling a bit strange so he took of one of his gloves and saw that it to was blood soaked as well.

"What the hell is going on?!" Fox cried out.

Then Falco fell to his knees.

"I NEVER WANTED TO BE LIKE THIS!!" The avian screamed.

Then Falco put his blaster to his head.

"What are you doing!? Falco no!!" Fox pleaded as he dove towards his friend in hopes of stopping him.

He pulled the trigger.

Thunder once more erupted in the sky and in a flash Falco was gone and Fox face planted in the thick rain drenched mud.

Fox was getting tired of this and wanted his sanity back but the odds were not very good that he could obtain it at the moment.

So once more he just curled up as tight as he could in to a ball trying to keep warm in the pouring rain.

He could feel his skin start to crawl and his eyes start to burn from the storms rain. Fox started to struggle to keep his eyes open and his mind active and he was pretty much drooling blood now. His body was starting do shut down on him and it was hard to breath.

"I'm so sorry father. I only wanted to make you proud. I just wanted to be like you." He whimpered out.

Death was upon him now but maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Perhaps he will now get to be with his father in heaven; if there is such a place. Or maybe the exact opposite would happen and his spirit would be cursed to roam this planet for the rest of time. Or maybe nothing at all happened and this was it, the end.

What ever it was though Fox started to welcome the idea of it. He had never been so miserable in his life. His body was bloody and broken, his friends left him behind, and he had no motivation to keep his heart beating anymore. No loved ones back home waiting for him, nothing.

So he just closed his eyes and accepted his fate. As a tiny speck in the middle of this never ending desert that was still being pounded by the thunder storm, Fox drifted off to sleep.

Then it was black.

The rain kept falling.

The wind whistled and howled.

No one saw him take his last breath, no one cried by his side, for he died a heroes death. He saved so many lives; many that will never know his name. His end, was a lonely one.

Venom has claimed its 2nd McCloud.

The Pain was gone...

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**_And that's chapter one! Hope you enjoyed. More to come very soon._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Later in this chapter I will explain the death of Vixy(Fox's Mother) in a different way, rather than how it really happened. I figured since my 1st chapter changed the formula, I would change some other things as well.**

**Also I would like to give a shout out to Snake Of The Rose for being my editor. You freaking rock man.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: On the Other Side With You.**

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Fox's eyes flew open as he gasped and sat up, almost as if he was waking up from a bad dream.

Fox took in his surroundings and was trying to figure out where he was.

His vision was a bit blurry, his breath was short, but all the pain and soreness he felt moments ago was now gone. His body was completely free of any of cuts and wounds.

His eye site finally became clear and what he saw before him was utterly beautiful.

Fox was definitely no longer on Venom.

He sat in the middle of a very dense forest, massive tress reaching towards the sky blocking out the blinding rays of the sun. Nearby a small stream of crystal clear water flowed with a calming sound, green moss forming on the edges of the ground that out lined the tiny river. Red, green, and yellow plants and flowers sprouted up everywhere adding color to the lush forest.

Fox took a deep breath and let it out; the air was so clean and crisp.

He got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his now perfect condition uniform

"I thought the afterlife would have a different dress code. Someone must think I really love wearing this stupid get up." He thought to himself.

He then walked over to the stream, cupped his hands, and scooped out some water to drink. It was so refreshing to him that he couldn't get enough of it, so he just dipped his snout in it and took a big gulp.

"Ahhh man... When did water taste so good?"

He then just stood there and looked around really soaking it all in. Birds were chirping, frogs were croaking, making small splashes in the nearby ponds, and the buzzing sounds of many assorted insects buzzed by his ears. It really was breathtaking; he had never seen any place this beautiful in his life.

"Yeah...I'm dead alright."

They had wilderness like this on Corneria, but Fox never got to see it because of the war Andross brought upon the Lylat system. All he could ever imagine was ruined cities and wastelands that used to be battlefields. He always wanted to see a place like this and it all brought a smile to his face.

Immediately, he began to run through the forest, cutting through the foliage, jumping over streams, and was being guided by what looked like the edge of the woods. The trees were almost completely enclosed around him; almost no sunlight came through. But ahead of Fox was a bright glow of light. He ran faster and faster as the light grew closer and closer, making his eyes adjust.

The mysterious wall of light was nearly right in front of him so he planted his feet sideways in the dirt and slid to a halt. He shielded his eyes from the brightness, but after they adjusted, the site he saw before him was simply amazing. At his feet was a hundred foot drop down to a massive lake that seemed to be miles wide. He was above the rest of the forest as he could see a sea of trees circle around the lake and spread out in all directions for what seemed like forever. The sky was so blue and only spotted with small, bright white clouds that on occasion, covered up the sun for a brief moment. The crystal clear lake below sparkled and glistened as the flawless sky put a bright blue tent over it, and to finish the picture perfect scene, snow capped mountains loomed off in the distance, casting a monolithic shadow over the valley.

"Wow." He said under his breath. It nearly brought a tear to his eye.

He sat down on the ledge that was at his feet, his legs dangling over the side of the cliff.

He just rested there, taking in the view, and on occasion taking a deep breath of the refreshing crisp air. His mind that was usually muddied with all the worries in the world was now free of the burden of life's constant assaults and everyday battles. The worry of not making it to see another day was nonexistent now. Fox knew he passed on, but where exactly he passed on to was still a mystery to him, but whatever this place may be, he liked it, it made him _happy._

Happy was a feeling that he sincerely had not felt in a long time. He always had so much on his mind. So many worries, in fact, that he never allowed himself to just sit back and be content with himself. One couldn't really blame him for it, because war is hell, and it changes a person into something entirely different. Maybe on the surface they appear just like everyday people, but on the inside they are tortured from the things they have witnessed or done. Shooting down an enemy fighter may seem like an easy thing to do because in the heat of the moment, it's just a hunk of flying metal attacking you. With each hunk of flight metal however, there is someone inside of it. A thought Fox was trained to block out of his mind when in battle. So, say for each one, there is an actual living being inside, and maybe even many more in the larger battle cruisers and space frigates. That's pretty much thousands of lives taken at the hands of Fox and his team. It was for the right reasons though. The Star Fox Team had saved the Lylat System from the grip of a maniacal ape bent on utter destruction of all living things.

The fact of the matter is, life must be taken in order for life to continue, and nothing could change that about war. The thought was always in the back of Fox's head; often times keeping him awake at night.

Sure, a good majority of Andross's soldiers we just as evil and heartless has the mad ape himself, but a lot of them were just brainwashed into thinking they were fighting for the greater good.

That really bothered Fox. He was not alone when it came to feeling like that however. Anyone who served in the Cornerian army or even the other members of Star Fox struggled with those ideals. Peace always comes with the ultimate price, and in this case, it was Fox's very own life, but none of that mattered anymore.

Fox's mind was finally free.

All the things that constantly haunted his soul were now gone forever, and he was now forever free of all the anxiety that made his stomach churn on a daily basis.

It's didn't really make sense to him. However, this sudden change in the way he felt about everything. It was like someone flipped a switch in his head that made him forget about everything that happened up to this very point of his existence. He could though recall certain things from memory like the war, his friends, Star Fox, what it was like to fly a fighter, and his family.

_Family_.

That word meant so many different things to Fox when he was alive.

Flight school was a family, being in the Cornerian army was a family, Star Fox was a family.

To Fox, a family was never a stable household with a mother and father, it was just a group of people he knew he could count on if he ever needed help. When Fox was just a young kit he, at one time in his life, had that _normal_ family. The memories were so faint but Fox could recall his own parents and the house he grew up in when he young. Such good times they were, but like many things in Fox's life, they were short-lived. He couldn't remember so much what his mother looked liked but he remembered her gentle nature, her soothing touch, and her everlasting patience with Fox as he grew up. He knew that his father, James McCloud, loved her dearly, and when she passed on he was devastated. The one thing Fox could vividly remember, for some reason, was the day James told Fox the most terrible news he could bare.

It was a cool, spring, late afternoon as a 7 year-old Fox McCloud sat in the front office of his elementary school. He was waiting for his father to come pick him up and take him home. Usually he waited on the curbside in front of the school with the other children, but James was running late today for some reason. So, Fox had to wait in the office in the mean time until his father arrived.

Fox rested his bottom upon a rather uncomfortable bench which sat across from the door that lead out to the main hall of the school. To his right was a desk for the receptionist, who was a twenty-something year old female lynx who was reading a magazine and totally ignoring Fox. He stared at the clock that was above the door, watching as the minutes passed. James was late from time to time but Fox didn't usually mind because he knew his father's job was a busy and demanding one, and he always did have some awesome stories to tell about flying fighter jets to make up for it.

As time continued to pass, Fox began to worry.

Something was wrong. James had never been _this_ late. School was out 2 hours ago and still Fox waited. Time continued to pass as the light coming through the office window started to fade. The school was becoming very empty now as doors were being locked in the halls, and teachers left to go home for the night. Fox had become very worried.

The lynx sitting at the desk nearby broke the deafening silence.

"You getting picked up or what?"

"Uh, yes ma'am," Fox replied nervously. "my father, he's suppose to come pick me up today." Fox timidly replied.

"What's your name?"

"Fox...Fox McCloud."

The receptionist immediately turned to her computer and started typing, her eyes searching about the screen for something.

"Here we go." She said to herself quietly. She picked up the phone on her desk, dialed a few numbers, and then waited.

"Hello? Yes, is James McCloud available? No? Do you know where I can reach him? This is Cornerian East Middle School and...well his son, Fox, is still at the school needing to be taken home. I don't have a mobile phone on record, no. Can you tell me what it is? What do you mean you can't give it to me? Classified? It's a _phone number!_ Please, I just need to reach him to find out if he is still picking up his son. Well forget the rules for once; I just need some way to get ahold of him! Then you call him for me and tell him his son is here waiting for him. Yes...thank you. Uh-huh, yeah, thanks. Bye."

She impatiently hung up the phone with a frustrated sigh, then turned her head towards Fox biting her lower lip. He looked back at her with a anxious look on his face, hoping to hear some good news perhaps. Her heart softened a bit, Fox just looked so pitiful and alone.

She tapped her fingers on her desk and thought for a moment.

"Well, let's give your mother a call."

Fox hung his head at those words. Where was his father?

She once more searched for a number to call on her office computer.

"Ah, found her, Vixy McCloud. Let's give her a call."

She looked over at Fox, "Is she at work? Or at home?"

Fox shrugged, he wasn't sure. Sometimes she worked late, sometimes she didn't. Fox didn't even really know where she worked.

"Well, I doubt she's home or I'm sure she would have come picked you up right?"

Fox gave a small nod in agreement, that made sense to him.

Once more, she picked up the phone, and dialed the number.

Fox could hear the dial tone as she waited for someone to answer on the other end of the call. He was now becoming very nervous, something was just not right.

Someone finally picked up on the receiving end of the line.

"Um, yes hi may I speak with a Vixy McCloud? This is Cornerian East Middle School, and I was trying to get a hold of someone who could come pick up her son Fox...WHAT? Oh my _god._

The lynx's eyes grew very, very wide as her mouth hung open, which was soon covered up by her other hand. Her eyes were now darting all over in what looked like a small panic as she was listening to whatever this shocking news could be. He hands started to tremble; her eyes seem to be welling up with tears, scaring poor Fox to death.

"Oh-Okay, I guess..I guess I can tell him. I'm so sorry. Yes, yes I will. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone with, a slow, gentle, Click.

Her hand stayed gripped around the phone even after she hung it up. Her eyes were clasped shut as she pinched her temple with her other hand.

She let out a large, stuttering, sigh as she rested her elbows on the desk, cupped her two hands together, and buried her face in them. She was losing her composure with each and every trembling breath she took.

She then felt a small presence move right in front of her.

She slowly slid her hands down her face, exposing her eyes, only to find Fox standing right in front of the desk, his head barely poking over the top, staring her down with the most terrified look on his face.

He knew the worst had happened and he could see it on her face.

Then Fox spoke up, and with a trembling, frightened voice he asked, "What wrong? What's happened? Please tell me."

It was the most pitiful site she had ever seen, and it was breaking her heart more than anything ever could. It was now, that she must tell him news that would forever change is life, and it was killing this young lynx.

"Fox…I'm sorry I have to tell you this...but."

The sound of a creaking door interrupted her, which made both her and Fox turn their heads to see who was coming into the office.

It was James McCloud.

"Father!"

Fox ran up to James and wrapped his arms around his waist, squeezing with all his might, finally feeling some remote comfort. James hunched over a little and returned the favor, hugging his son back.

"Hey buddy, sorry I took so long." James said a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I thought you weren't coming…" Fox replied in a semi-crying tone. He wouldn't let go, not for the world.

"I'm sorry Fox."

James looked over at the receptionist. His eyes showed that he too, knew that something terrible had happened to Fox's mother. She was relieved that she was no longer the one that had to deliver this news, but still felt terrible.

The receptionist stood from her seat, she couldn't take it anymore. She turned to leave the room but then stopped, looked over at the two, glanced down at Fox, then back up at James, and said with much sympathy, "I'm so very sorry."

James gave a slow, single nod in acknowledgment, his son still clinging on to him.

She left the room.

Fox finally let go of his father and stepped back gazing up at him, waiting for the worst to be told to him. It was no mystery; Fox knew something had happened to his mother.

James keeled down on his knees becoming eye level with Fox. His mind was racing with what he should say to Fox, or more so, _how_ he should say it.

"Fox, your mom was in an accident." he stammered out holding back the tears, trying to be strong for his son.

Fox's fears were confirmed now.

"What?? What happened? Is she okay? Where is she?" Fox franticly questioned.

"She was driving home from work and, well..." He just couldn't say it.

"She's gone Fox, I'm so, so, sorry." He said as tears started to stream from his eyes.

Fox burst into tears; he knew his mother was dead. He didn't want to know why, it was just too much to bare as it is.

James put out his arms, and in a flash Fox leaped at his father and embraced him once more with all his strength.

James held his sobbing son, and patted his back trying to comfort him. There was really nothing he could do or say that would ease the pain, for either of them.

He didn't lose everything though, he still had his son.

"Fox, I love you so much, and I'm so sorry I let this happen, I feel like the worst father in the world."

"It's not your fault dad, don't say that, please." the little Fox pleaded.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you Fox; I promise I will keep you safe, I promise."

James then cradled up Fox in his arms, got to his feet, and walked out of the office holding the only thing left in his life that really mattered. The door slowly closed behind him making a loud squeaking sound as it swung shut. The lynx stuck her head out from another office door, then seeing they were gone, approached her desk and sat down with a heavy sigh. There was a window that looked out onto the street, and through it she saw the two get into James's GCM (General Cornerian Motors) pickup truck, and drive away into the night.

It was the last time she ever saw either of them.

Fox's mother was indeed killed in a car wreck that day. She was driving home from her office job that late afternoon when, while passing through an intersection, her car was t-boned by a commuter bus that ran a red light. It sent her 4 door sedan flying through the air, blew out all the windows, and caused it to roll several times upon landing on the asphalt. Everything stopped, people got out of their cars, with their mouths gapped open, looking in terror at the accident that accrued right before their eyes. Out of all the bystanders however, there was one in particular that was affected the most.

It was James McCloud.

He happened to be waiting at that very same red light that the bus decided not to obey. He was on his way to pick up Fox when suddenly; a large metro commuter bus sped by him, and smashed into another vehicle. He soon realized who was in that small car that was stuck, and bailed out of his truck to run and help. He ran for the mangled car, yelling for his wife, hopping to get some kind of response, but all he could hear was the blaring horn that got jammed upon impact. The car was wheel side down when it came to a stop from barreling out of control. It was bent in half, in what looked like a, "U" shape, the windows were blown out, scrap metal, broken glass and debrief were everywhere, smoke rose from the engine, and it was a hopeless scene. James arrived at the wreck in a frantic panic; he looked through the driver's side window only to see the most tragic sight. The airbag blown, the seats and dash board stained with blood, and his wife, his beautiful wife, the vixen he loved with all his heart, was slumped over the steering wheel showing no signs of life.

"Oh god, no!" James yelled out.

He grabbed the door handle while bracing his other hand on inside of the now broken window, and pulled with all his might only to find the door was jammed.

"Open. god dammit!"

He kept struggling with door as the sounds of sirens from fire trucks, and ambulances grew louder and louder; help was coming, but not soon enough for James.

He wasn't waiting for anyone. He was going to get his wife out.

He ran back to his truck, opened the tool box he had in the bed, and pulled out a crowbar; something he never needed until now. He ran back to his wife in a frantic pace, his heart racing, and his eyes red from the panicked tears.

He jammed the crowbar into the edged of the driver door, and started kicking it with all he had to give, trying to wedge the door open. He kicked it over and over until finally it gave way, the sounds of scraping metal pierced the smoke filled air as it hinged outward. He reached for his switch blade he kept in his army boots, flipped it open, and cut away the seat belt that held her in. Then he leaned his head in, threw her closest arm over his shoulder, put is right arm around her waist, the other under her legs, and lifted her out of the twisted wreckage. Her head rolled back, lifeless, James tried to talk to her to see if she would respond, but it was more than obvious that she was unconscious, or worse, dead.

He had to act now, he laid her down on the street ready to give her CPR, but then saw a sight he never wanted to ever see in his entire life. Her face was blood drenched, cuts and lacerations were everywhere, and her right arm was bent backwards, shattered at the elbow. It caused James to nearly throw up; it was a horrifying sight to behold. He put his head over her chest in hope of hearing a heart beat but to his grave disappointment, nothing was felt or heard. He performed CPR, he tried everything he could, but she was gone. She was killed on impact and there was nothing bringing her back from it.

Tears streamed down his face as he sat on his knees hunched over his now dead wife. The woman he swore to love and protect was now gone forever.

He cupped one of her hands in his.

"I'm so sorry Vixy, I love you so much." He cried out. "I promise I'll take care of our son, and I'll never let anything happen to him, I promise, my love."

And with that, he gave her one last kiss.

Soon the ambulances and fire trucks came rolling in; bystanders watching the entire scene unfold as paramedics ran over to James and his now deceased wife with a stretcher, hoping to save a life that was already lost. She was confirmed dead on the scene of the crash minutes later.

--

--

A few days passed and the funeral was held. James's friends were there, such as Peppy Hare, Pigma Dengar and a few others that served at the air base. Fox wasn't sure how he felt. So young, and his mother was already taken from him; it just didn't feel like this was really happening.

After the funeral, the 2 remaining McClouds moved to the housing on the Cornerian airbase. Fox was pulled out of school and was now always by his father's side. As the years passed Fox learned everything about flying from his father, and by the age of 16 was becoming one of the best, most talented pilots in the Cornerian fleet.

He took after his father in nearly every way possible. Then came the day Andross rose up, putting the entire Lylat system in danger with his crazy bio-weapons and army. James McCloud formed Star Fox with his close friends Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar in hopes of stopping the mad scientist. Fox wanted to be part of the team also, naturally of course, but his father made him stay behind telling him he was too young, and he just wasn't ready for real combat.

Star Fox made it all the way to Venom, the farthest planet from Corneria that Andross resided on, and nearly got their hands on the mad scientist. But, James and Peppy were betrayed by Pigma during the final battle on that wasteland of a planet. James was tragically double-crossed, shot down, and killed by Pigma, but Peppy was able to escape back to Corneria to tell Fox the fate of his father.

Fox was filled with so much anger and sadness when he was informed about what happened on Venom, now both his parents deceased. Peppy took in Fox as a father figure and trained him in the art of air combat until he was the best in class. Two years later Andross once again made himself known casting a shadow of fear over the entire Lylat system, this time, destroying certain planets with his creations from Venom. Fox McCloud brought back Star Fox, and, with Peppy's help, recruited two extra pilots to the team.

Falco Lombardi, a hotheaded, hot shot pilot, who was also a close friend of Fox, and Slippy Toad, another good friend of Fox who wasn't really the best fighter pilot, but was one of the brightest mechanics around, were added to the roster of Star Fox.

And the rest…is history.

History, indeed.

Fox opened his eyes from the vivid memories that were passing through his head. He was now, yet again, overlooking his new home, this, paradise he had not too long ago awoke in. He didn't know why those memories became so vivid to him; it was almost like watching a movie. They started to fade on him now however, perhaps maybe, he had to witness the most painful times in his life once more before he moved on from them. He really didn't know how this place worked, or even still, _where_ he was. Those memories deeply saddened him though, almost to the point of tears.

They say there's no sadness in heaven, just happiness and joy, so maybe this wasn't "heaven" after all.

Fox sat; still over the ledge that over looked the lake, and sulked.

"If only I was a better pilot, I wouldn't be here right now, I would still be with my friends, and I would be a hero to the entire Lylat System! But I'm just another forgotten casualty now…" Fox trailed off.

Suddenly, from behind Fox, another voice spoke, startling him. "You'll hardly be forgotten Fox."

Fox slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder.

His eyes grew wide, a smile appeared on his face.

Maybe this _was_ heaven after all.

Before him stood another, slightly taller, vulpine just like him, dressed in the very same uniform.

It was James McCloud himself.

"FATHER!! Oh my god!! You're here!" Fox celebrated as he scrambled to his feet, and ran towards James, his arms out stretched.

Fox nearly tacked his father causing him to stumble back a couple of steps.

"Ha, I missed you too, you little punk." James said with a smile as he gave Fox a long overdue hug.

Fox stepped back, this time tears of _joy_ filled his eyes, he told his father "I can't believe you are here! I just... Is this really happening?"

"Yes Fox, I can't believe it either, but I'm pretty sure this is for real."

"I wasn't sure I would ever see you again, this is a dream come true!"

"Yeah, same here sport. I finally got my son back."

They both just laughed and embraced each other again, they didn't really know what to say about the whole situation, it was just too good to be true, but finally this father and son were reunited.

After all the excitement settled they finally got to sit together and talk one on one; something they have not done in what seemed like an eternity.

They both sat on the ledge that looked over the very same lake from before.

"Sure is beautiful isn't it?" James asked.

"Yeah, it sure is. I have never seen anything like it, but what is this place? Heaven?"

"Well, to be honest Fox, I have no idea." James said scratching his head.

He continued, "But now there you're here, It sure feels like it."

"Yeah, sure does." Fox replied.

"Well, how come you have the Star Fox uniform on also? Why do we still have them?" Fox asked.

James looked over at Fox and noticed that he too was wearing the iconic Star Fox uniform. He never got to see Fox wearing it before he was shot down on Venom. He was a spitting image of himself and it made James very proud.

"I don't know that either Fox. Perhaps, it's a reminder of who we once were, what we stood for, or what we will be remembered for. Trust me; this place is just as much as a mystery to me as it is to you."

James smiled, "It does look good on you though Fox, you're a spitting image of your old man."

"Thanks dad." Fox said as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't mention it."

"So, how um, old are you now, or I mean, _were?_" James asked.

"Well, I _was_ 18? Yeah…18 years old."

"Wow, so it's only been about, 2 years then."

"You have been here for 2 years?"

"Yep, sure have."

"That must have been, lonely."

"Well," James turned to Fox and with a grin continued, "I have your mother to keep me company."

"WHAT? She's here??"

"Of course! _You're_ here! Ha, wouldn't it only make sense?"

"I want to see her! Come on dad let's go! Take me to her, please!" Fox pleaded.

James laughed and grabbed his son by the shoulder. "Now hold on Fox, you will get to see her, just chill out for now."

"Chill out? You're really saying that? You tease me with that and you're telling me to chill out?"

"Yeah, chill, doesn't it make me sound cool?" James put on a cocky smile.

Fox just sat there, with a confused look on his face, dumbfounded by what his father just said.

"Uh, so, why can't I see her now?"

"In time Fox, in time."

The sun was setting over the mountains in the distance, causing the two to squint from the blinding rays of the bright yellow ball. James pulled out his sunglasses and put them on. Fox rolled his eyes once more.

"Yeah, you're _real_ cool now." Fox chuckled.

James leered at Fox and then playfully punched Fox in the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?"

James just laughed.

Fox decided not to question about his mother again, he was sure he would get to see her, and he liked having something to look forward too.

The two continued to catch up and share stories from the few years they were apart. James told Fox all about his journey to Venom and how he was betrayed by Pigma. It was really tragic because mostly, it was the most heroic story Fox ever heard, but it ended with his father being shot down and killed. It was very surreal though, having his _father_ tell him about it.

Then It was Fox's turn to tell his story. He did have much more to tell because Andross's fleet was much larger, and his bio-weapons wreaking havoc on most of the planets when it came time for Fox's effort to take him down. Then Fox told his father how he killed Andross and then all about how he crash landed on Venom, only to be left behind to die.

"They left you behind?" James said in bewilderment.

"Yeah, they did." Fox replied with a hint of anger.

"I don't know Fox, that doesn't sound like Peppy, I'm sure if he was calling shots up there, he would have done everything he could to get you out of there. They wouldn't just thrown up their arms and say, oh well, guess he didn't make it. That's the one thing about war you must honor, leave no man behind."

"Well they did."

"You don't know that for sure though."

Fox thought about it for a moment. What his father said did have truth to it, he didn't really know what happened after it all came to an end for him. Maybe they did come for him.

Fox then told his dad about the visions he had or, hallucinations rather, of Peppy and Falco before he died. The one about Peppy made sense to James, maybe his mind was just recalling one of the most traumatic times of Fox's life, losing his father, but the part about Falco just did not make any sense at all to him.

"Yeah, I remember that kid, he was always a bit of a little jerk, but he did have a good heart." James said.

"Yeah, Falco was a great friend to me…Sure, sometimes he was a total ass, but it was all in good nature. When I saw him on Venom during my uh, final hours, I was so confused…it just didn't add up to me. I thought maybe it was a vision of the future or something like that, but still, I could never imagine him being like that."

"A vision of the future? That could be, but that sure doesn't apply now don't you think?" asked James.

Fox let out a sigh," Yeah, that's for sure."

"Or it could mean nothing at all. Sometimes the mind does things that just don't make sense, not everything has some deep meaning to it." James stated.

"Yeah, perhaps, but like you said, it doesn't really matter now does it." Fox replied.

"All that matters now, is we are dead." James laughed out.

"Yeah, we are legends now." Fox said with a smile.

"Hey! Now _that's_ the spirit." James replied giving Fox a firm pat on the back.

"You made me proud Fox, you really did, and don't ever think anything different. You did the impossible and took down that son-of-a-bitch Andross once and for all. It doesn't matter you didn't make it out to tell the tale, it just matters that you fulfilled your duty, and you saved so many lives on that very day you defeated him. You are a true hero Fox_,_ or even more so like you said, a _legend._"

Those where the words Fox thought he would never get to hear.

"You have done great things Fox, many great things."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it though without you teaching me everything I know. You taught me how to be strong, how to keep my cool during a battle, and most importantly how to be a leader."

"Yeah, you did have a pretty awesome teacher," James laughed, proud of himself. "Yes Fox, you really went above and beyond, but there's something you need to know."

"What is that?" inquired Fox.

"Your days of heroics are far from over."

Suddenly Fox felt a severe pain slam into his chest causing him to fall on his back, and roll up in pain.

"ARGH! what the hell just happened?" cried out Fox.

Fox struggled to his feet, backing away from the edge of the cliff before him, holding his chest in agony as the pain became stronger and stronger.

"I'm sorry Fox; this isn't your time, not yet."

Blood began to run down Fox's face, the wound from his crash that now seemed to be ages ago formed on his head again.

"What the hell is going on? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME??"

"I'm sorry Fox, this isn't my choice."

James' voice was fading away, to Fox's dismay. The pain soon took over Fox's entire body, causing him to whine out in misery.

He stumbled towards his father.

"This can't be happening, I can't lose you again." Fox cried out.

Fox now knew what was happening to him, it wasn't his time to be here, his time was not up.

Fox lost the strength to stay on his feet and fell into his father. James caught him in his arms, and Fox rested his head on his chest.

"It hurts so much..." Fox stammered out, his breath becoming frantic as his heart started to race out of control.

"You're going to be just fine Fox, I love you son. Now look at me."

Fox tilted his head up, exposing a smear of blood on James vest.

"Don't ever give up Fox, no matter how bad things get, never give up. Okay?"

Fox was out of it but nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'll be watching you Fox, Just remember that I still do exist."

"No, please, I... I want to stay here with you. Please dad, let me stay here with you." Fox weakly pleaded.

"Sorry Fox, I wish I could. I love you, okay? Don't forget that."

"I love you to." whispered out in pain.

"Tell Peppy I said hello, Now HOLD ON!"

James then picked up Fox and walked over to the edge of the cliff.

"What are you doing?"

The beautiful clear sky, in a flash, was blacked out, by dark, looming clouds, and the lake below that was once a tranquil light blue was now a dark shade of black. It started to flash over and over, almost as if you were looking down on a thunder storm.

Then James did the unthinkable.

He threw Fox right off the cliff sending him in to a free fall down to the raging waters that were far below.

Fox screamed for his father as he twisted and tumbled through the air. Everything was spinning out of control, as he saw, sky, water, the cliff side, and everything else passed by in a blur as he fell to the lake that was transforming in to something completely different than it once was. The last thing he saw was his father looking down at him as he fell.

Then he hit the lake.

It all went dark once more.

But in what seemed like an instant, he was in a different place.

He felt his body laying on a cold, wet, muddy surface and also, the feeling off sheets of water falling on him. He could hear a steady sound of some sort, but it was muffled.

It couldn't be. Was he back on Venom?

He couldn't move, he couldn't open his eyes, he had no strength in him at all.

His mind was barely active as it was.

Thunder boomed and the sound of rain was becoming clearer and clearer.

"God, _dammit._" Passed through his mind.

He was back.

He still couldn't move, or open his eyes to confirm that he was indeed back on Venom.

He could just hear and feel the rain fall on him.

There was no pain though; maybe his body was in shock.

Suddenly he heard something that gave him some hope.

A pair of voices off in the distance.

"Why the hell did we wait so long again to come down here?" It sounded like Falco's voice, Fox was sure of it.

"The General told us to hold, he didn't want the rest of us to fall into some kind of trap." Maybe that was Peppy?

The voices grew closer, becoming clearer through the sound of the rain falling.

"When the hell do we take orders like that from that stupid hound. We aren't just going to leave Fox down here to die like that! That's bullshit, and I'm surprised you follow an order like that!

Yea, that was Falco alright.

"I just respect my superiors Falco, he is a General, so if Pepper gives and order, we damn well better listen! I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"What has gotten in to you?! I thought Fox was like a son to you, and you talk like it's no problem just to leave him here."

"I was just following orders! Falco, that's how things work!"

"Sure Peppy, they say JUMP, you say HOW HIGH?"

"Shut your trap Falco."

"Hey, screw you, you old...wait, wait, hey look! Look over there! Is that him?!"

The sounds of running footsteps came closer and closer.

Now they were right over him.

"Oh shit, he looks bad, really bad...God DAMMIT Peppy!! See! See what happened?!"

"Just shut up and check him."

Fox felt a feathery wing tip press against the underside of his jaw.

"Shit, there's a pulse! He's alive! I can't believe it! Man McCloud, you are one tough motherfu-"

"FALCO!"

"Geez sorry, mom."

Fox could hear the static of a radio light up.

"Hey Slip? Yeah, you're not gonna believe it buddy, we found Fox! I repeat we found Fox and he is hanging on by a thread so get your ass down here and pick us up!" Falco communicated.

"Are you serious? He's alive?! Woo hoo! Okay, I got your location, Rob and I will be there in one minute." Slippy replied over the radio.

"Well Fox, looks like you pulled through after all and didn't bite the dust like your old man."

"Falco look!"

Fox finally got the energy to open his eyes; he was lying on his back looking up at Peppy and Falco.

Peppy had a smile on his face, he was happy to see hope wasn't lost for Fox after all and Falco was keeled down next to Fox, checking over his injuries.

"Christ Fox," Falco said in disbelief. "I can't _wait _to hear how this happened."

Fox slowly lifted his right hand, and flipped off Falco.

Peppy laughed out loud.

Falco cracked a smile at Fox's, _kind_ gesture.

"Yeah, he's alive alright."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: This update, is a long one. So maybe that will make up for the wait! Enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated as well.  
**

**Chapter 3: Survivalism**

* * *

-Cornerian army base, present time-

The Cornerian army base press room was packed to the brim. Every seat was taken by reporters, journalists, camera crews, or government officials, and they all knew that big news was about to be announced. They all eagerly waited for General Pepper to come fill the podiums empty space, and tell them the news they had all been waiting for; _hoping _for.

Finally the general emerged from the side curtain.

The room exploded into a commotion, camera flashes going off, questions being rapid fired at Pepper, trying to get their inquiries answered 1st.

The old hound took to the podium.

His eyes twitched with every camera flash as did his ears with every reporter trying to get themselves heard.

Another official took the stage alongside Pepper, an old husky dressed in a formal marine uniform.

The husky spoke, "Please everyone, quite down! The news you are about to hear if very important to the war against Andross, so please save your questions for the end, and if you interrupt the general you will be removed from the press room without a second thought."

The crowd settled down with that request.

Then the husky gave Pepper a nod, and the General returned the favor.

Pepper began his speech. "Citizens of Corneria, about one hour ago, we received confirmation that Andross's base of operation, and Andross himself, has been completely destroyed in a massive explosion on Venoms surface, ending this war, once and for all."

The press room went wild with celebration. That was the news everyone all over the Lylat system have been waiting to hear for what seems like an eternity. Even the old General Pepper himself was smiling at the news he just delivered, it just seemed to good to be true.

Pepper lifted his arm, signaling he wanted silence because he had more to say. The crowd subsided their jubilation for the moment, eagerly awaiting what else he had in store to tell them.

"Yes, exactly one hour ago Fox McCloud and his team dove straight into the heart of Venom, plowed through the last defenses of Andross's army, and single handedly ended his campaign against Corneria, and the rest of the Lylat system. We are forever in their debt, Star Fox are truly the saviors of the Lylat system. We can now finally be at peace once again, and start to rebuild what we once new before this terrible war, somehow, came to be."

The audience applauded and cheered at that news.

"I will now accept any questions you may have concerning this event." said Pepper.

All the reporters started asking their questions all at once, making it hard to make any of them out.

Pepper pointed to one reporter, a young raccoon wearing a press hat, suit and tie, and holding a pen and pad to take down notes.

Since he was chosen to speak, the rest of the reporters gave him the courtesy of allowing him to ask his question 1st.

The reporter spoke up, "What do you plan to do about the remainder of Andross's forces? What actions are being taken to ensure this war is truly over?"

Pepper replied, "We have beefed up our space squadrons that patrol each planet and sector throughout the entire Lylat system, their job is to mop up the stragglers. With the death of Andross spreading over their communication network, they are either surrendering to our fleets, or retreating to the edges of the Lylat system, even though they will find no refuge. Next question."

Once more they all broke into a shouting match.

The General made his choice again, this time choosing an older gray cat that looks like he had been a reporter for many, many years. The room quieted down.

"Thank you General, what is the status of Star Fox of this moment? And how did just 4 pilots manage to take down Andross single handedly without Cornerian army support?"

"The Star Fox team used highly advanced space fighters called Arwings. They were prototypes developed by the Cornerian air force, and James McCloud, the original founder of Star Fox. Those Arwings could out maneuver and out gun anything that could be thrown at them. And when you have the best pilots in the Lylat system behind the controls that makes the Arwings nearly invincible."

"That's pretty unbelievable, any plans to mass produce the Arwing for our own armed forces?" asked the same reporter once more, butting in a second question."

"Maybe in the future, but right now the government is now shifting its spending towards the relief effort, helping to rebuild our cities, and help those affect by this war." The General replied.

"Thank you for your time."

Pepper nodded.

"I have time for one more question."

Yet again, they all attempted to ask their questions all at once, hoping to be chosen to be heard. This time however they all asked the same question.

"What about Star Fox? Where are they? Did they make it out alive?"

That was the hot topic of the evening; they wanted to know if the heroes of this war were coming home safely.

"The members of Star Fox…" began the General, causing everyone to be quiet.

"…Unfortunately, have not been heard from since their last communication about one hour ago. Although they confirmed Andross was killed, they were unsure if their leader, Fox McCloud, made it out in time before Andross's base caved in on its self."

Suddenly the mood in the room shifted from hope to uncertainty; what happened to Fox McCloud?

"Now I hate to deliver that kind of, troubling news, at a time of celebration such as this. However, that is an unavoidable fact as of now. Rest assured however, Fox McCloud is not one to go down easily and his skill in the Arwing is second to none. So what you can bet on is that he indeed _did _make it out alive and he is now celebrating with the rest of his team as they make their way home. We are doing everything in our power to reestablish communication with their ship, the Great Fox, and we are also sending out a reconnaissance team to find and escort them home. So for now, we wait, and we will inform you as soon as we find our anymore information regarding the whereabouts of Fox McCloud and his team. Let me stress once more however, this is a time for celebration, and I am certain our boys are on their way home as we speak."

--

--

"SLIPPY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Falco screamed into the radio. "You _said _you would be here in ONE MINUTE!!"

The sudden outburst startled Slippy, making him nearly jump out of his seat in the bridge of the Great Fox.

"Well, uh…that was just a figure of speech Falco! I meant we would be there really soon! Why? Is something wro-"

"Figure of speech?! FIGURE OFF _SPEECH?? _Slippy, do you know when it's okay to use figure of speech? Do you know when I'm cool with it?"

"Well, I-"

"Like if I asked you, how long until you're done using the microwave? And you reply, one minute Falco. I'm cool with that, no biggie."

"Okay..."

"You know when I'm not cool with it? Do you know when It doesn't really, _help, _the situation Slip?"

Slippy turned to Rob who was beside him, with a confused look on his face.

"Well, I'm not cool with it when, MY LIFE DEPENDS ACAULLY DEPENDS ON IT!!"

"WHAT?!" Slippy yelled over the radio.

"We got company Slippy!"

"Company?! Are you sure?!"

"Am I Sure? Well let me double che- YEAH I'M PRETTY DAMN SURE!" Falco screamed, impatiently.

Peppy's voice now came through the com channel, "Slippy, listen close, we got what looks like five Andross tanks coming our way, and I can guarantee they will have support as well. You're just gonna have to just swoop the Great Fox in, and pick us up; I don't think we will make it to our Arwings before they reach us."

"Slippy what the hell is taking you so long anyway?! You said you had our location didn't you?" Falco barked.

Slippy was on the edge of his seat, his heart racing, he wasn't sure what to do.

"Well, the storm that's over your head right now prevented me from getting your _exact_ location right away!! I'm sorry! I'm doing my best guys!" Slippy explained with a flustered tone.

The radio went silent for a few seconds.

"Slippy," Falco began, "I'm gonna get serious on you right now, okay?"

"Uh, okay."

"In about, five minutes, we are going to be DEAD. They are gaining on our position, _fast. _You need to get your Arwing and have Rob take control of the Great Fox, so you can give us cover while he picks us up. You think you can handle that?"

Slippy swallowed hard, his eyes widened, and he instantly felt sick to his stomach. Slippy was no hero, and couldn't believe what he was being asked to do.

"Slippy?! Do you copy?" Falco eagerly asked over the radio.

"Guys I don't know if I can do it, the pressure is killing me!"

"Slippy if you hesitate any longer it's going to be to late anyway! We are going to be fish in a barrel for them! We can't get to our Arwings in time, and even if we did, one would have to stay behind with Fox! This is a lose-lose situation for us Slip, unless you do this for us. _Please_ Slippy!" Falco pleaded.

"Falco and Peppy's location confirmed." Rob said in his robotic voice. He turned to Slippy, "Awaiting orders."

Slippy mind was racing with more anxiety then he had ever felt, he leaned forward in his chair with his hands folded over his head.

Then he sat up straight, clenched his fists and slammed them on the armrests of the chair; he knew what he had to do.

"Rob, take over the ships controls, take it down to the surface, and pick up Falco and Peppy."

He hopped out of his chair and slid on his flight jacket that was hung over his chair.

"Ready my Arwing as well." Slippy took a deep breath, "I can do this."

In a flash Slippy dashed out of the bridge of the Great Fox, and made his way to the elevator that took him to his Arwing. He pushed a button on the wall that made the lifts doors slide open. With his stomach still in knots, he stepped in, and pushed the switch on the elevator's console that said, "Hangar."

The doors closed, the elevator hummed to life, and made its down to the hangar below.

The lift came to a stop, the doors once more sliding open, reveling the infamous hall way that Star Fox would always run down together, as a team. This time however, Slippy made the run alone; he had never been so nervous in his life. It was always comforting having Fox by his side, he was his best friend, and always had faith in him no matter how bad he would screw up. No such luck this time. For he runs alone, down this hall way of fate, in hopes that he can now be the one that saves the rest of the team from death.

The Great Fox started to shake and rumble, they were now passing through the atmosphere of Venom. Slippy reached the entrance to the hanger, the door sliding up automatically upon his arrival.

He blasted through the door way, skidded around the corner, and nearly fell over because the Great Fox was starting to nose down. He made his way over to his Arwing, the only one that was still docked, hopped in the cockpit, strapped in, and closed the hatch.

Slippy was shaking like crazy from the adrenaline.

He hit the ignition and flipped many other toggle switches causing the Arwing to roar to life.

All Slippy could see out of the end of the hangar was nothing but clouds and flashes of lighting as the Great Fox descended through the storm to the planet below. Launching an Arwing under these conditions was extremely dangerous but there was no time. Slippy checked over a few gauge and made sure everything checked out before he took off.

He took a deep breath, and let out a deep sigh.

"This is it." He thought to himself. "Rob, I'm ready for launch." Slippy said over the com channel.

"Affirmative," Rob replied. "Launch sequence initiated. Prepare to launch in, 3...2...1"

Slippy braced himself.

The Arwing was then catapulted forward at breakneck speed toward the end of the hangar, its main thruster erupting with full power.

He dove right into the storm, clouds and rain muddied his vision so he had to rely on his altitude and pitch gauge in the mean time.

"I _can't _believe I am doing this."

Slippy clicked on his com channel, "Rob, can you bring up Falco and Peppy's location on my radar?"

"Affirmative."

Two small green dots popped up on his display.

"There we go; once I break through this storm I should be right on top of them."

About 5 more red dots popped up on his radar as well, and they were drawing very close to Falco and Peppy's position.

Slippy griped his flight controls harder than ever. He had no one to back him up this time, and if he was shot down, Star Fox would be done for.

Finally he broke though the cloud layer but he still couldn't see much; the sunlight was nearly all blocked out.

He flipped a toggle switch labeled, "Night vision."

In an instant the entire hatch turned a bright shade of green, allowing Slippy to see everything he couldn't before.

"There they are!!"

Down on the ground he could see three tiny figures, glowing brightly because of the night vision; it had to be the rest of his team.

Suddenly an explosion erupted about 30 feet from where he could see his friends below.

--

--

"Mortar rounds!" Peppy screamed over the explosion, "Dammit! Those are mortar tanks!"

"OH SHIT!! That nearly hit us!" Falco yelled in surprise.

The blast left a small crater in the sand.

More mortar rounds could be heard being fired off in the distance, followed by a haunting, whistling sound.

"Crap! Here comes more!!" Falco warned.

The rounds started slamming into the ground all around them. Explosion after explosion sent dirt and sand skyward leaving craters everywhere. The mortar tanks were very inaccurate, but their rate of fire was 2nd to none among the Andross artillery pieces; the rounds just kept coming.

Falco and Peppy, with Fox in tow, were now running for their lives. Peppy had Fox by his legs and Falco had him under the arms, allowing them to move as fast as they could.

Another mortar explosion erupted dangerously close by, sending them sailing through the air and landing spread out on the ground.

Falco has tunnel vision from the blast, his hearing muffled. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears as he struggled to his feet.

Peppy was a few feet from him, also getting back up from the explosion.

It was a miracle they had not been directly hit yet from the constant hammering of the mortars.

"YOU OKAY?!" Falco screamed at the top of his lungs.

Peppy looked himself over, "I AIN'T DEAD YET!" He yelled back, over the constant mortar impacts.

Falco looked around in a panic.

"Shit, where's Fox?!"

Peppy eyes widened and then started to look all around for the vulpine.

"I... I don't know!!" Peppy hesitantly replied.

Then something caught Falco's eye. "Hey! He's down here!"

Fox's body rolled down into one of the many craters that were being scattered about. The mortars kept falling.

Another blast knocked Falco into the same hole Fox was laying in; he fell face first in the mud.

"Falco!" Peppy yelled, diving into the makeshift foxhole as well, landing on his belly.

Falco just stayed lying on his stomach with his wings over his head. Fox was on his back between his other team members, still in once piece thankfully. Falco reached over and checked Fox's pulse again.

"He's okay." He sighed out as he looked over at Peppy, "He's still alive."

Things couldn't get any worse.

The three were soaked to the bone and covered in mud and sand. The rain was still falling as the mortar fire continued to slam into the area around them.

"Falco!" Peppy got to his knees, "Come on, we got keep moving! If we don't, they will hit us for sure!"

Falco scrambled to his feet in agreement.

They picked up Fox like they had him before.

Peppy looked over his shoulder back at Falco who had Fox from under the arms, "Are you ready?!"

"Too be blown up? _Always_!" Falco sarcastically shot back, "McCloud If we make out of this you owe us, BIG TIME."

"Okay! On three! One, tw-."

"Screw that just GO!" Falco said as he pushed forward, causing Peppy to move on as well.

The two made their way up and out of the foxhole, but as they did they finally saw something that finally gave them some hope of making it out of this nightmare. A lone Arwing soared over their heads and the Great Fox just made its appearance out from the clouds in the distance.

"I can't believe it!! Slip pulled through!" Falco cheered out.

"Peppy hold up!" Falco set down Fox and grabbed his radio from his belt, "Slippy take out those mortar tanks NOW, and try not to get shot down because I really want to go home!"

"You got it!" Slippy responded with some pride in his voice; it was his turn to save someone else's ass for once.

"Just drop a nova bomb on them! That should take them all out!"

About 2000 yards away, five mortar tanks positioned themselves from the Star Fox members that were on the ground. Slippy was over them with in nearly a few seconds, dropped a nova bomb, and destroyed each one. The large explosion engulfed the tanks, vaporizing them, and left a small mushroom cloud rising up to the sky. This put a stop to the constant mortar bombardment.

Falco pumped his fist in the air, "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about Slip!"

Peppy just stood there with his arms folded and a smile on his face, "Never thought I would see the day when Slippy had to bail _us _out."

"Yeah, that's for sure. Guess I better be nicer to him from now on." Falco laughed.

Slippy's voice lit up the radio. "Hey guys! How was that? Did ya see?"

Falco held up his receiver to his mouth. "We totally saw it Slippy, you nailed them."

They watched as Slippy flew over their heads once more, heading back toward the Great Fox, that was now setting down about 50 yards away.

"Come on Peppy, we are almost home free!"

Peppy started shaking his head and pointed behind Falco. "Not yet we are."

"What?" Falco turned around, "Oh, freakin-a."

Through the leftover smoke of the nova bomb blast came eight enemy hover APC'S at full throttle. Above them flew their support, ten of Andross's fighters.

Falco once more grabbed his radio, "Slippy! More contacts! You're not done yet."

Slippy did a U turn and full throttled it towards the new bogeys.

"I see them Falco, leave them to me! Just keep moving towards the Great Fox!"

The APC's top mounted laser cannon's opened fire on Falco, Peppy, Fox, as they gained on them.

"HIT THE DIRT!" Peppy Screamed.

They tumbled into one of the many left over foxholes the mortars carved out of the ground, and covered their heads. Deafening laser fire was now filling the air, and now they were indefinitely pinned down. If they tried to make a break for it now, they would be cut down in seconds.

"SLIPPY, TAKE THEM OUT!" Falco shouted as loud as he could.

The enemy fighters opened fire on Slippy as he drew nearer to the APCs, half of them breaking off formation, the other half kept the incoming Arwing on target.

"AAAHH!!" He yelped out, throwing the ship onto a barrel roll, deflecting most of the incoming lasers.

The fighters roared past Slippy as he turned his head in all directions, trying to track one.

Then he slammed on the breaks and flipped another U turned in attempt to chase down a target.

They were now scattered everywhere, holding no formation. They were more concentrated on taking out the Star Fox members on the ground rather than Slippy. They would swoop down on occasion, opening up their lasers cannons on the planet's surface, trying to finish the job they set out to do.

The panicked frog has so many targets to choose from, he didn't know which one would be best to take down 1st.

Falco's voice startled him, "JUST FUCKING SHOOT SOMETHING SLIPPY!!"

"Okay okay!"

He locked on to the closest enemy, and let lose a charge shot. The laser tracked the fighter and directly hit it in the back of its fuselage, sending it crashing to the ground.

"That's more like it frog boy! Now do that again, like nine more times!"

Two enemy crafts aimed their attention toward Slippy and headed right for him, opening fire.

He dodged some of the lasers while returning fire. Slippy struck one of the incoming fighters on the nose, ripping through its shield, and killing the pilot. It started to lose altitude and went right under the Arwing, and soon after, slammed into an APC on the ground. The explosion took out another APC beside it. Now all the fighters were after Slippy after that display, he now posed a serious threat to them.

Warning alarms started to sound within the Star Fox pilots cockpit.

"Oh...Crap."

A barrage of laser fire soon came flying towards Slippy's craft from all directions. Before he could think, the Arwing jerked violently as lasers slammed into it, causing his shield alarm to go off. Even the APC units turned their fire on Slippy, joining the attempt to knock this threat out of the sky.

Falco and Peppy watched in horror as Slippy was being torn apart; his efforts of dodging anything coming at him did not play out well.

Peppy grabbed Falco's radio, "Slippy get outta there! You can't take them all on. Get fast and low, you might be able to make it to the Great Fox!"

With his shield now half gone, he obeyed Peppy's advice and dove for the ground. The remaining eight enemy fighters joined in formation behind him in hot pursuit, still firing everything they had at him.

Slippy did his best to avoid being hit as he raced over the barren terrain, but kept getting slammed into now and again by enemy fire.

Now only a quarter of his shields were left, alarms were going off like crazy.

Slippy was freaking out; he didn't have the skill that of the rest of his teammates possessed to get out of a situation like this.

His fellow Star Fox members watched as he flew over their heads, towards the Great Fox that was still waiting for them. Now smoke coming from the engine, and the enemy was still right on his tail.

"Think Slippy, THINK." he thought to himself.

He could see the Great Fox drawing closer and closer.

He's eyes ran over its main front cannons.

Finally he had an idea.

"Yes! I got it! Rob! I'm heading right for you, about 8 bogeys on my tail, charge up the main guns, and when I say, LET THEM HAVE IT."

"Targets acquired. Awaiting command."

"Peppy! What the hell is he doing? He's gonna smash into our ticket outta here." Falco said in confusion as he watched the scene unfold.

"I don't know what he's doing, maybe his controls are out, I don't know."

Then they both noticed the main cannons on the Great Fox started to glow brightly.

They looked at each other with a smile on their face.

Slippy gripped his controls tighter and tighter, trying to hold the Arwing steady, his shields nearly gone.

"Almost there...OKAY ROB, DO IT!"

At the last moment Slippy barreled rolled to the left, revealing the fully charged cannons to his pursuers.

2 massive laser blasts, ripped through nearly all of Andross's fighters.

Fiery explosions filled the air.

Nearly every fighter was taken down; the others that weren't hit were struck by the other's as they spiraled to the ground. Some of the falling, burning wreckages slammed into the Great Fox, but left minimal damage.

"Slippy you are a genius!! That was amazing!" Peppy celebrated over the radio.

"I can't _believe_ I pulled it off! Can I have a medal now?"

"Ha! Sure thing, Slip."

"Hey don't get too side tracked, we aren't done yet! Those APC's are still coming." Falco reported.

"I got them in my sites you guys, I'll try to keep them distracted while you try to run for the Great Fox!"

"Roger that." Peppy replied. "Come on Falco, you wanna go home?"

"Thought you would never ask! Come on Foxie!"

Once more, they made a break for it with Fox. Up and out of the foxhole and ran towards the Great Fox as fast as they could.

Fox finally snapped out of his constant switch between consciousness and unconsciousness. He coughed and sputtered up some blood.

"Oh well look who decided to join us Peppy! Welcome back Fox. Great, now that you're awake you can walk. I'm getting tired of carrying you all over the place."

Laser fire soon filled the air again; the APC's were only a few hundred yards away now.

"Just keep moving!! We are almost there!!" Peppy commanded.

Fox had no strength to talk, he had no idea what was going on or where he was; it was just chaos.

Slippy swooped in and blasted one of the APC's to pieces, flaming bodies of soldiers bailed out of the wreckage screaming in agony.

Once more the lone Arwing made another pass, tearing another one to shreds.

The remaining APCs rolled to a stop, and let all of their soldiers they were carrying bail out. Now about three dozen troops were coming for them, yelling out a battle cry as they ran after their target, firing their blasters.

"Go go go!! We are almost to the Great Fox!! Slippy, clean up those troops!"

"Roger that."

Slippy flipped a U turn to make another pass, he aimed low, and unleashed his main laser cannon on the enemy troops below. His shots ripped through them like nothing, incinerating their bodies.

The rest of them kept firing at Falco and Peppy who were now almost to the Great Fox.

"Rob, lower the lift! They are nearly there!" Slippy instructed the AI over his com channel.

"Lift activated."

A hydraulic lift started to lower from the edge of the Great Fox's front hangar.

The three made it to the lift just as it touched down.

They stepped on board, set down Fox, and Falco slammed the controls on one of the lifts arms, causing it to rise upward. The lift had no protection on it, Falco, Peppy, and Fox seemed to be easy targets now. Andross's troops all came to a halt and aimed carefully, some down on one knee aiming down the iron sites of their weapons. They opened fire, but only to find their guns useless. All of their shots just bounced off the Great Fox's shield, they were too far away.

For the final time, Falco clicked on his radio, "Slippy, drop another nova, and bring it in. We are getting the hell out of here."

Slippy set loose another nova bomb, it sailed to the ground, and landed right in the middle of all the hostiles that were left.

Falco and Peppy, shielded their eyes from the blast as the lift reached the top.

Then there was no more enemy fire, it all finally came to an end, the sound of the raging storm filling the air once more.

The three Star Fox members had never been so close to death in their lives. They just stood there, covered in mud and sand, soaked to the bone, and peered off into the endless waste land. It was now littered with flaming wreckages and dead soldiers.

Falco started to nod his head, "Slippy did good."

"He did better than _good, _Falco. It's amazing what a little adrenaline can make someone capable of." Peppy replied.

"Come on Falco, let's get Fox to the infirmary."

They each got Fox by an arm and put it over their shoulders, bringing him to his feet. Surprisingly, Fox was able to somewhat hold himself up with his own two legs.

"Whoa, someone is feeling better." said Falco.

They started to slowly make their way down the elevated platform along the edge of the hangar.

Half way, Fox managed to find the strength to speak, "What...just happened. What's going on?"

Stunned by Fox's question, Falco thought for a minute and then spoke, "Well, you almost died, then, we almost died, _then_, Slippy almost died, but then we didn't die, _the_ _freaking_ _end."_

"Wha...What??" Fox weakly responded, confused.

"Just take it easy Fox, We can tell you about it later."

They reached the end of the platform just as Slippy's Arwing was being lowered down from the entrance dock above, It was totally trashed, but still, Slippy saved the day. The only thing that really mattered was the team did not lose a single member that day, even though they went through hell and back to save one of their own.

They made their way slowly to the lift, leaving a trail of wet, dirty foot prints on the cold metal floor.

Soon they were riding in the elevator, on their way up to the main floor of the Great Fox. None of them said a word; they had just been through more than they ever dared to ask for.

The elevator came to a stop, the doors slid open, and there stood Slippy; he was waiting for them.

Slippy gasped at the site of his other teammates.

Their uniforms had rips and tears, they were stained with sand and dirt, and they showed no emotion.

Fox was the worst out of the 3, his vest covered in blood spatter, his eyes were bloodshot, the bandage wrapped around his head was solid red and it needed desperate changing.

But he was alive.

Falco and Peppy made their way out of the elevator with Fox, not saying a word to Slippy.

They slowly continued down the main hall of the Great Fox, with Slippy quietly trailing behind, passing their wreck room, living quarters, gym room, mess hall, supply room, and finally, arrived to the infirmary.

They laid Fox down on one of their few beds they had in the infirmary. Then they changed his bandage on his head, hooked him up to an IV and a heart monitor, and put an oxygen mask over his snout. Fox was stable; his heart having a slow but steady pace.

Falco sat down on the other bed beside Fox, slouched over, folded his arms in his lap, and hung his head down.

Peppy sat down beside him and put his hand on his shoulder, "You alright?"

Falco turned his head sideways and looked at Peppy, "You ask'n me?"

Peppy let out a sigh, "Yeah, It's been quite a day for all of us hasn't it."

Slippy, who was standing in the door way, walked up to Fox's bedside, and a worrisome look appeared on his face.

"Is...Is Fox going to be alright?" Slippy asked.

Peppy scratched the back of his head, "He's going to make it Slippy, we need to get him to a hospital as soon as we can though. So go tell Rob we are ready to get off this rock a.s.a.p."

"Well, what about your Arwings? They are still out there."

Peppy looked over at Fox, who was now sleeping soundly.

"Just forget about them, I don't have the energy. Unless Falco here, really wants to I guess we could pick them up."

Falco leered over at Peppy, "Hell no, we got Fox, let's get out of here before something else happens. They can have our Arwings."

"Okay then, I'll have Rob set a course for Corneria; we'll be taking off in one minute."

Falco's head shot up. "What? How long? Did you say one minute?! Don't you remember our discussion earlier Slip??"

"I...er...but...right now, I was just saying…" Slippy was caught off guard.

Falco smiled, "Slippy. I'm kidding."

"Falco..." the frog shrugged.

Slippy disappeared into the hall.

"And hey, Slip?" Falco shouted after him.

Slippy's head popped into the doorway, "Yeah?"

"Good job today."

"Uhh, thanks Falco." He was surprised by the compliment.

Once more Slippy started to make his way down the main hall of the Great Fox.

"Oh yeah, who's the man," he pointed his thumbs at his chest, "I'm the man." He whispered to him self in a very cocky manner.

Falco and Peppy continued to just sit and rest, tying to collect themselves from the recent event.

"Well, that was a lot of fun." Falco scoffed.

"Yeah, sure was." Peppy replied.

"So explain to me again why we waited so long to pick up ol' Foxie here? Because I still fail to see why we did."

"Falco, I already told you why, Pepper told us to hold our position. I respect the General, and I assumed he had good reasoning."

"What could that good reasoning possibly be, huh? Yeah it was a great idea, just hold tight, no rush, Fox is probably fine anyway. Yeah, that makes total sense to me."

"Falco."

"Falco what? How can you blame me?" Falco jumped to his feet, "If we would have gone down to Venom the _moment _we knew something happened to Fox, that whole thing with us, nearly getting blown to pieces, wouldn't have probably happened. We gave them time Peppy. We gave them enough time to put together a final resistance. I thought with all your, _experience, _you would've figured something like that out, but no, man was I wrong."

Falco had a point, he had Peppy caught.

Falco had more to say, "I just don't _get it. _You chose, Pepper, over him." He pointed over at Fox.

He we walked over to Fox's bedside, "You hear that Fox? Peppy had no problem letting you marinate a little in the rain. Guess he thought it would be good for you. You're lucky that rain turned out to be harmless."

"Falco, that's enough! I'm sorry! Okay? It was a bad decision! You are right! We should have gone right away. I am sorry! Are you happy now?"

The avian cocked is head and scrunched his brow, "Don't apologize to me." Falco said as he pointed to himself.

"Apologize to Fox."

The Great Fox started to rumble, and they could hear the engines firing up, preparing for takeoff.

"Freaking finally." Falco complained as he headed for the door into the main hall. "I'm gonna go change into some dry clothes. We should probably get Fox out of his wet uniform, the last thing we need is him getting the flu or something. Or should we wait? He looks comfortable, what do you think Peppy?"

"Falco, I'm warning you. Just shut up and get him some dry clothes."

In a mockingly manner, Falco gave Peppy a quick salute, and walked out of the room.

"Get him some water also!" Peppy shouted.

"I don't know Peppy; I don't think he really needs it right _now_." Falco sarcastically responded halfway down the hall.

"I'm going to kill that bird." Peppy growled under his breath.

"Prepare for takeoff." Slippy said over the intercom.

The Great Fox lurched forward, and eventually started to nose up, making its way through the cloud layer for the final time.

Falco threw his rain soaked flight jacket on his bed, changed into a dry tank top and uniform pants , and then went over to Fox's room to grab some dry clothes as well. Outside of Fox's bedroom window was nothing but dark, gray, clouds rushing by as rain drops beaded up on the glass. Falco went over to Fox's closet, slid it open, pulled out some dry clothes, and threw them over his shoulder.

He turned to exit the room, but something caught his eye. He turned toward the window; he thought he saw something moving out in the clouds.

"I must be seeing things."

But then he looked closer.

"What the..."

A dark silhouette loomed under the cover of the storm, but then it faded away.

"Nah, couldn't be"

Falco ran down to the bridge and found Slippy asleep in one of the many captains chairs while Rob guided the Great Fox back into space.

"I can't believe this..." Falco muttered.

The avian snuck up on the sleeping Frog and lowered his beak right next to Slippy's ear.

"WAKE UP!!"

"AAAAAHHH!!"

Slippy leaped out of his chair and assumed a karate stance (although he didn't know any karate).

Falco burst out laughing, he just couldn't help it; it was too hilarious.

"Haha! Whoa there, kung-fu master."

"FALCO! UGH!"

"Man, oh man, if only you could have only seen your face." Falco was laughing hysterically.

"What do you want??"

Falco finally calmed down his laughter, "I thought I saw something out of Fox's window, just wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy."

"Well you're going crazy Falco, if anything was outside the ship we would have picked it up on radar by now."

"Exiting Venom's atmosphere," Rob routinely announced.

"Frigging finally!" Falco complained

Outside, the clouds finally parted, and now the blackness of space was painted over the window of the bridge. The vastness of space was almost like home to the Star Fox team. Seeing the endless void, littered with stars and other planets brought a feeling of comfort.

"I thought we would never got off of Venom." Sighed Slippy as he plopped down in his chair again.

"For a moment, neither did I."

"For just a moment?"

"Yeah, the moment I asked you to come help us out. Afterwards I was like, man we are so screwed, but you surprised the _shit_ out of all of us Slip. Even Fox was like, no way, although him saying, no way, was coughing blood in my face. I knew he was proud of you."

Slippy rolled his eyes, "That's not funny Falco."

Falco left the room to deliver Fox's fresh clothes and water.

"Rob, I'm going to check out my Arwing, and make a full assessment of the damages."

"Affirmative, Slippy."

The amphibian made his way to the elevator, with a PDA in hand to take note of the damages to his Arwing with. This was always his job after a mission, he was the one to make sure all the Arwings were in perfect working condition before they would set out. Even though they were going home and he didn't really need to perform this task at the moment, he just wanted see how close he really came to pushing his ship to the breaking point.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open. He walked down the hallway that lead to the hangar already poking away at his PDA, stopped in a nearby supply room on the way to grab his tool kit, and then made his way to the entrance of the hangar.

The door slid open, and Slippy walked through not really paying attention to anything else.

He only took a few steps after passing through the doorway, stopped, pushed a few final buttons on his PDA, and then looked up.

He dropped his tool kit.

His eyes grew wide, his heart started to race, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

There was a small Andross drop ship parked half way down the hangar, with 5 soldiers hopping out the back of it.

They weren't too different from the average Andross shock troop. They wore crude black armor that covered most of their bodies, but when it came to weapons, they seemed better equipped. They each held a high-powered, fully automatic, plasma machine guns and had grenades of all types clipped to their armor.

Slippy was just a dear in the headlights.

"STAR FOX MEMBER SITED! Weapons free! Take him out!"

Although they were a few hundred feet away they spotted Slippy in an instant and opened fire. Large muzzle flashes emitted from the barrels of their weapons.

"OH CRAP!" Slippy dove for the door way, as sparks flew and pieces of metal chipped off the walls from the impact of their weapons.

Since they were down below on the runway, Slippy had some temporary cover until they made it up to the main platform. The frightened frog scrambled to his feet and stumbled out of the hangar's exit. He franticly opened a side panel nearby, revealing a console that controlled the door, and slammed his fist on a large red button that said, "Lock Down" on it. The door slammed shut, and then hissed as many hydraulic locks fell into place.

Within moments he could hear muffled voices on the opposite side.

"Damn it, he escaped and locked the door on us. Go get the satchel charges from the ship. My brothers, this is the beginning of our finest hour. The Fox will pay for what he has done!" One of the soldiers yelled out.

Slippy was scared to death and couldn't believe what was happening.

"Falco really _did _see something out Fox's window, but how did they slip past our radar?!"He quarreled to himself

There was no time to figure that out now, he made a run for the elevator, and on the way punched an emergency button that caused an alarm to go off with in the entire ship.

--

--

"Why the hell do I have to change his clothes?"

"For Christ's sake Falco, can you not do anyone a favor?!"

"I helped save his god damn life! How about that? Was that not enough?

Suddenly the lights went deep red, and the emergency alarm sounded.

The avian threw up his arms, "What the hell is this for?"

Falco grabbed his blaster from his side holster and check if it was combat ready, as did Peppy also.

"You think Slippy tripped and fell on one of the emergency switches again?" Peppy shouted with a half smile.

"After all we have been through today, I really hope so. Let's go check it out."

Just as they turned out of the infirmary, their weapons drawn and ready, Falco was knocked over by Slippy who wasn't looking where he was going at the moment.

"Dammit Slippy, what the hell did you do?!" Falco yelled over the blaring alarm and picked him self off the floor.

Slippy struggled to his feet, "I didn't do anything! We have been boarded!"

"WHAT?!" Peppy and Falco both snapped.

"Slippy I told you I saw something out there Slip, but no." Falco made his voice high pitched to mock Slippy ," If anything was outside the ship we would have picked it up on radar by now."

"Well geez I'm sorry! I don't know how they got past our radar like that! Maybe the storm was interfering and as long as they stayed at the right range from us it wouldn't have-"

"Just forget it Slippy! Just tell us the situation!" Peppy ordered.

"Well I wanted to do a damage report on my Arwing and-"

"Slip we don't need your life story, just spit it out!" Falco sarcastically added.

Slippy slapped his forehead in frustration, "An Andross drop ship somehow got into our hangar as we were taking off! There are five of them and they looked like they were, I don't know, special forces or something! Their weapons are way more advanced than what they usually use; they were all decked out. I locked down the main door into the hangar but I could hear them talking about explosives; they might blow through any second!"

"This day, just... won't..._end._" Falco yelled slamming his fist on the nearby wall, "Now what do we do?"

"Andross special forces? I never had heard about such a thing." Peppy said with much skepticism.

"Well we need to come up with a plan now! We have no time!" Slippy panicked out.

An explosion was heard erupting below and was soon followed by a low rumble.

Falco grabbed Slippy by the shoulders, "Did you lock down the lift?"

"Uhh, no, I forgot!"

"Well make remembering a high priority from now on! Now get to the bridge right now and have Rob lock everything down that's between them and us, and see if you can get some backup to come help us out! Got it?! And turn this freaking alarm off! I can't hear myself think!"

"G-Got it!"

"GOOD! NOW MOVE IT SHORTY!" the avian yelled.

Slippy took off down the hall as fast as he could.

Falco turned to Peppy, "Alright, what's the plan."

The alarm went silent, the lights returned to normal, and the sounds of other doors slamming shut and locking became apparent.

"Thank god, now I can think." said Peppy. "Well, we can wait for back up to arrive, we have them boxed it right now."

"What if they get through, then what? I'm sure they came prepared to get through some locked doors."

Peppy took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "Then I think you know what we would have to do if it came to that."

"In that case." Falco began, "Let's get everything we can use for cover, tables, chairs, our beds, anything we can turn over, hell even the god damn couch in the wreck room. We gotta set up multiple sets of barricades, that way we can fall back to another one if we get pushed back."

"Sounds like a plan, let's do it."

The layout of the Great Fox was like this. Running down the middle of the main floor was the main hall that acted almost like the spine of the Great Fox. All the rooms such as each team members living quarters, rec room, mess hall, and so on could be accessed by this main hall. On each ends of the hall, a smaller hallway was connected that branched off to the left and right. At the far end, going to the left, would take you to the lift that led down to the launch hangar, and going to the right would take you to the docking hangar where Arwings were landed, and then lowered down to the launch hanger below. On the other end of the main hall led to the bridge, being the head on top of the spine if you will. Going to the left of at the bridge at the end of the hall way led to the armory, and going to the right led to the infirmary.

Falco and Peppy drug everything they could into the main hallway and formed barricades with them.

About half way down the main hall, they had the mess hall table and another table they found in the supply room turned on their sides. The 2nd barricade was composed of some of their own beds. They did their best covering the entire hallway, using chairs and other random things, to fill the gaps the tables and beds couldn't reach far enough to fill.

"Falco! Help me with the pool table, we are gonna use it as well."

"Oh, no no no, I don't think so buddy, _not _this." Falco pleaded.

Peppy continued to drag it out of the rec room, making a ear piercing grinding sound as it slid across the floor.

"Falco, we are using it."

"Don't you know how much it cost?! Fox and I both pitched in for this thing!"

"Don't you know you can't play pool when you're dead?! Look, we make it through this, I'll buy you a new one, how's that?"

"Okay, fine, you don't have to get all pissy about it!"

"Falco, why are you such a pain in the ass all the time?!"

"Hey man, I'm just trying to keep it real."

Peppy rolled his eyes.

They scooted it to the end of the hallway, closest to the bridge, and turned it over. It slammed into the floor making much noise due to its weight.

"Okay, I think we are set." said Peppy.

"Yeah, that's everything."

They moved over to the 1st barricade and put their backs up against the tables.

"I can't believe they boarded us like that, I mean, I almost impressed." Falco said, checking his blaster once more.

"Yeah, I kinda am too. I never thought they would be cunning enough to pull of something like this." Peppy replied.

"Well, I must say Fox _really_ must have pissed them off, because this is starting to get ridiculous. I thought we were home free, but now here we are, on our very own ship, waiting for someone to come blow our heads off."

Slippy came running down the hall way, making his way around the makeshift cover, blaster in hand.

He assumed their position as well, putting his back against the back one of the tables, and let out a deep sigh.

"Ah jeez, alright Slippy, since we can tell you know something that will really lift our spirits, lets hear it." Falco shook his head.

"Well, bad news 1st, we won't be getting back up for one hour."

"Okay, sounds good, sound's good. Now, what's the _bad _news?" sarcastically responded Falco.

"Well..."

A loud slam came from the other end of the hallway.

"Oh you gotta be kidding." Peppy ears perked up.

"They're in the lift, I couldn't lock it down in time, but I was able to lock down the door on this floor."

"Awesome." Falco jeered.

Another slam against the door was heard.

"How many were there again slip?" Peppy asked.

"Uhh, I saw five."

Peppy sighed," Three on five, the odds are against us yet again."

"When have the odds _ever _been on our side?" asked Falco.

"Yeah, you got a point," agreed the hare.

Once more, a loud slam was heard up ahead.

"There's no way they will get through, that door is 3 feet thick," explained Slippy.

Another slam.

"Then go tell them Slippy, I would hate for them to go through all the effort for nothing." Falco mocked.

"Yeah, right. Why don't _you_ go do that?"

"How bout we _both_ go."

"Huh?"

Falco grabbed Slippy by the arm and made his way down the hallway towards the hangar lift.

"Falco! What the hell are you doing?! Let go of me!" Slippy pleaded as he was dragged down the hall.

They turned the corner as another impact fell upon the door.

"You see that? It didn't even budge Slip, they are trapped in there."

Slippy held his breath, he was so nervous. Within the elevator were Andross soldiers, ready to kill, and Falco acted like it was no big deal.

"Okay, you made your point, can we go back now?"

Falco smiled smugly, something worked out in their favor for once.

"Good one Slip." Falco said. "I guess you boxing them in there wasn't bad news after all."

Another slam came from the metal door before them, but this time, the door gave a little. The Star Fox members stepped back, startled.

Once more the soldiers on the other side crashed into the door, this time it started to bend outward. The slams became more constant, growing louder and louder as the metal started to bend and creak.

"Not good, not good. Slippy come on!"

The two ran down the hall and jumped behind cover, and once more slammed their backs against the tables, readying their blasters.

"What the hell? Do these guys bench press cars or something?!" Falco said with disbelief.

"Where is Peppy?" Slippy asked. He wasn't around them at the moment.

Falco poked up his head and looked down the hallway towards the bridge, searching for Peppy.

"Peppy! Where are you? We need you right now!" Falco shouted.

The hare appeared from around the corner at the bridge end of the hall, with all the weapons he could carry, and a rocket launcher slung around his back. He made his way around the cover they set up, and eventually was back at the 1st line, with his other team members and dumped the weapons on the floor.

"When I saw you guy's jump back from the door, I figured we would need more fire power." Peppy explained.

"Yeah, but the freaking rocket launcher? That's a little risky don't you think?" Falco asked, his eyes wide

"Yeah, it is, but, it also might be our problem solver, so here."

Peppy handed Falco the rocket launcher, "You can have the honors."

The sounds of the door being smashed through started to slow down, but became louder with each hit.

"We only have one round for it, so make it count, got it?"

Falco mounted the launcher on his shoulder, "Alright, if you say so."

Falco took his position dead center, Slippy against the wall on the right, and Peppy on the left; both now armed with assault plasma rifles.

A loud, piercing sound of bending metal ran through the halls.

"We are almost through my brothers! One more time!"

"Shit! Here they come!" Falco yelled out.

Peppy readied his rifle, "Alright boys, this is it! We they come around that corner, Falco, let that rocket lose, and then everyone get their heads down. If somehow some of them make it through that, let them have every last shot of your rifle. If they want Fox, they are going to have to get through us, and God dammit, I don't plan to let that happen. He had our backs all through this mission, and it's about time we return the favor! You guys with me? Let's do this for Fox!"

Falco peered his eye down the launchers site, "With you all the way."

"Yeah! For Fox!" Slippy cheered.

Finally the elevator door gave way and was sent flying through the hallway.

"We are through! Now find the Fox and bring me his head. Kill anything that gets in your way!"

They poured out of the lift, their weapons ready, and moved swiftly around the corner into the main hall. Only problem was, they were now on the receiving end of Falco's rocket launcher about 100 feet away.

"No! Fall back! Move!" they started to lose their footing as they stumbled backwards, trying to get out of the way.

"Welcome aboard, assholes!" Falco centered his aim in the middle of the group, and pulled the trigger.

The rocket exploded out of the end of the barrel, and was sent along on its one way trip.

Falco dropped the launcher on the floor, "Get your heads down!!"

The rocket hit its mark, the explosion engulfing the end of the hall. The screams of the enemy were almost louder that the eruption itself. Random rifle fire started come from out of the fireball, as did the stumbling, screaming, dismembered bodies of the Andross troops. The emergency fire sprinklers popped out of the ceiling a few seconds later, putting out most of the flames, and causing a wall of smoke to form.

The sound of the fire alarm filled the Great Fox as water poured down.

Falco peered his head over cover, "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!"

Slippy poked his head over as well, "Did we get all of them, was that it?"

Peppy took a look for himself, "I count, 3 bodies, the rest could be in the smoke, don't let your guard down!"

Falco started to laugh, "Man, did you see the looks on their faces?! Come on Slip put it up." Falco made a fist and held it toward Slippy.

"Come on Slippy, don't leave me hanging!"

With a forced smile, Slippy made a fist as well and bumped Falco's.

"That was weak, aren't you happy we aren't dead?"

Suddenly, out of the smoke, came flying a small tube-like canister.

"OH SHIT FLASH GREN-"

The flash bang blew up in mid air, Peppy and Slippy were able to cover his eyes in time but Falco was staring right at when it went off. He was completely blinded by it.

Out of the smoke and while firing their weapons, came running the 2 hulking ape soldiers that somehow made it out of the rocket blast.

"Tear them apart!" One of them screamed out.

Peppy grabbed Falco by the arm and pulled him to the ground and out of enemy fire.

Slippy fell to the deck as well, he was scared to death.

"I can't see, I can't SEE!! "Falco screamed out.

Laser fire now filled the hallway; sparks flew everywhere as they drilled into their 1st barricade.

"Shut up! You'll be fine! Just give it a moment!" Peppy barked, returning blind fire over their cover.

Slippy followed Peppy's lead and fired his weapon over cover as well.

Falco's vision started to fade back in, he was on his back looking up at laser fire as it flew overhead.

The shooting halted for a moment. The 2 apes were both down on one knee, reloading their weapons with new batteries charges.

"Slippy, Falco, fall back now! I'll cover you! GO!" Peppy ordered.

Peppy, fully exposed himself out of cover and opened up his rifle on the two soldiers. They didn't even flinch as the rounds grazed their armor.

Slippy grabbed Falco, who was still half blind, by his arm and lead him down the hall. They both crouched over as they ran, trying to stay behind their waves of cover.

The 2 apes reloaded their weapons, and started running towards Peppy, yelling like madmen.

Peppy's battery in his rifle went dead.

He had no time to reload. He threw it to the ground and reached under his jacket to pull out his blaster.

It was too late. In a matter of seconds, he was on the receiving end off the butt of a rifle.

"PEPPY, NO!!" Slippy cried out, as he watched Peppy get knocked to the ground, blood splattering on the wall.

Once more the ape raised his end of his rifle to give Peppy one more fatal blow as the other made his way down after Slippy and Falco. He smashed through everything they laid out for cover.

Peppy rolled out of the way at the last second, the butt of the rifle slamming into the ground next to him. The impact of the gun was so forceful that it put a dent in the floor. In a flash Peppy aimed for the face of his attacker and pulled the trigger.

The ape reared up, screaming in pain while grabbing his face, blood seeped through his fingers. Peppy charged his blaster, got to his feet, and took aim once more.

"Peppy, watch out!!"

Before he could even turn his head to see who was trying to warn him, he was picked up by the other ape and thrown through a nearby doorway into the mess hall.

The brute force of the ape sent his body through the air like nothing. He smashed into their storage cabinets that were mounted on the wall, fell to the counter that was right below them, and then bounced lifelessly on to the hard floor below.

The one ape Peppy shot lowered his hands from his face. One of his eyes was blown right from his skull, and half of his face was a bloody mess, but he didn't seem to mind one bit anymore.

Falco's vision finally returned to normal, he saw the entire scene that just played out with Peppy getting destroyed by the 2 apes.

"The rabbit is dead; we are almost to our prize," said the ape that just took out Peppy. "Are you, okay, brother?"

He gave a sickening smile, blood dripping off his face. "Never better."

They both turned to Slippy and Falco that were a couple hundred feet down the hall with their weapons drawn.

The 2 pairs stared each other down; the classic standoff of good and evil.

"Give us the Fox, and we promise we will make your deaths quick, and painless." He glanced over to Peppy, "Unlike his."

Falco and Slippy, gripped their rifles tighter, their anger starting to overcome them.

Tears ran down the side of Slippy face. He was losing his composure, he never been so upset in his life.

"You...you killed Peppy?!" Slippy stammered out.

"It was all too easy." the ape replied.

"No...Peppy…no." Slippy started to sob.

Falco put his hand on the frogs shoulder and calmly said, "Slippy, don't let them get to you. They might be bluffing. Stay with me, don't lose it, we can do this."

Slippy's hands were trembling, and he was trying to hold back the urge to totally break down; it was just too much for his mind to take.

"Falco... what do we do?"

The apes started to slowly raise their weapons, and took aim at the two. The emergency fire sprinklers finally turned off and the alarm silenced.

It was now dead silent. Only the drips of water landing on the floor from various things were heard.

"Falco...what…do..we...do?" Slippy asked one more time, with much anxiety in his voice.

A fire extinguisher position right next to the two apes caught Falco's eye, "We improvise."

In the blink of an eye Falco opened fire on the extinguisher, causing it to explode, knocking over one ape and stunning the other.

"OPEN FIRE SLIPPY!"

Slippy obeyed and opened fire alongside Falco.

It was no use though, the 2 apes climbed to their feet, taking all the countless rounds being fired at them. They didn't even pick up their weapons; they just started pushing their way through the barricades, towards the two remaining members of Star Fox.

"Reload!!" They both slammed a fresh charge into their rifles.

"Fire!" Falco yelled.

"This isn't working Falco! They just keep coming!"

"Keep shooting! They aren't invincible!"

They just kept moving through the gun fire, the rounds sparking off their armor, others tearing their flesh that wasn't shielded.

They totally ignored the pain; nothing would stop them from getting to what they came to do.

"Falco!!"

"Just keep shooting and keep falling back, just don't let up!"

--

--

"_Wake up Fox."_

Fox's eyes slid open.

His head was pounding, his vision was blurry, his entire body was sore, and he could barely breath. The lights of the infirmary blared at him from above. He turned his head slowly, and saw the heart monitor keeping a steady tempo.

He struggled his hand over his oxygen mask and tried a few deep breaths. He coughed and sputtered, it felt like a knife was being twisted in his chest with each time he inhaled. A small poking sensation was felt in his arm. An IV hung by his side, slowing dripping medicine and nutrients into a tube that led to his body.

He was so thirsty.

He pulled the oxygen mask off his face, and dropped it to the floor. With all the strength he could muster, he slowly sat up, and then turned sideways, his legs now dangling over the side of his bed.

"Slippy, run! Get out of here!"

Fox's ears perked up, something was going on nearby, and it didn't sound good.

Fox tried to stand, but he fell to the floor landing on his hands and knees. He got to one knee, and pushed with all his might to stand. He stumbled over to the open doorway that lead to the main hall, and rested against the edge of the frame.

Pain lurched through his body, which made Fox take short, gasping breaths.

"Where is the FOX?"

"You can go _fuck_ yourself, how about that?" Fox knew that was Falco, but he sounded so weak. What was going on?

Fox slowly looked around door, into the hallway, so see Falco being held against the wall by his neck by one arm by a large ape. Next to him was the soldier's partner, holding Falco's own rifle up at the struggling avian's head.

Falco spit in the apes face.

"How dare you show such disrespect!" The ape yelled, lifting Falco with one arm off the ground, his feet kicking and trashing about.

Fox bared his teeth at the scene; he knew what was going on now. They were here for him.

Fox didn't even bother trying to make sense of how he got back to the Great Fox, or how there were Andross troops a-board his ship, trying to find him. He knew he was in no shape to fight but he had to think of something.

The ape slammed Falco against the wall making a loud rattling of steel ring out.

"For the _last_ time. Where is the Fox?"

"For the _last, _time, go...fuck...yourself you piece of shit."

Something caught Falco's eye, he quickly glanced left and saw Fox's head barely sticking out of the Infirmary doorway.

Falco's eyes darted back, locking with the apes once more.

The ape noticed the quick glance, and turned his head to look as well. Nothing was there.

"You saw something didn't you." He said with a sly smile and tightening his grip around Falco's neck.

Falco couldn't speak; he was choking to death in the powerful grip of the ape.

"We are nearly there, brother"

Then, with one arm, he turned and threw Falco back down the main hallway, having him crash through the turned over pool table.

Fox stumbled over to their medical supply cabinets and started clumsily digging through them causing much noise.

"Ah, do you here that? Our prize awaits." The two apes slowly made their way down towards the infirmary.

"Come on where the hell is it?!" Fox thought to himself.

Finally he uncovered a small case covered with caution and warning labels on it.

He could barely think, he was so tired, it felt like he hadn't slept in the thousand days, but he knew they were coming for him; he had to fight the fatigue.

He got down on his knees and popped open the case.

Within it laid five silver auto-injecting syringes labeled, "Adrenaline."

Fox took a deep breath, "Here we go."

He pulled out a syringe, pressed it up against the side of his neck, and pushed a small button on the other end of it.

It let out a small hiss as it quickly burrowed into his skin and injected him with its contents.

Fox's held in the scream that was trying to desperately to get out, he could feel his body going haywire. His heart started beating like crazy, his eyes twitching and convulsing, his body was now screaming with pain, and his mind was moving a million miles per hour.

Fox ripped out the syringe out of his neck and threw it on the floor.

"There he is brother!!" A voice came from behind Fox.

Fox was down on his knees with the case open in front of him, his back towards the two apes that were entering the room.

"You are the one who killed our leader! Our emperor! You will now pay for your atrocity!"

Fox didn't say a word, his back remained unturned.

His heart started to slow, he could feel his strength returning, and his instincts of survival falling back in tune; the adrenaline finally did its job.

"Look brother, he is scared. He remains silent, awaiting his demise." One ape laughed.

Fox brought up his left arm, and placed it on his combat knife that was still on his vest.

"Turn to us, Fox McCloud, for we need to watch your expressions of suffering." One of the apes said while reaching for Fox's shoulder.

In a flash Fox drew his knife, spun around, and stabbed the ape on the inside of his elbow.

The ape yelled in pain as the knife dug deep into its mark, severing the joint. Fox twisted the blade, and with a loud, "snap", the arm broke loose from the elbow down. Blood poured from the wound as Fox ripped out the knife from the apes arm.

Surprised at what Fox had just done to his comrade, the other soldier stumbled backwards in fear and aimed his weapon at the insane vulpine. The other ape fell to the floor holding his now broken arm, letting out a sorrowful cry of pain.

Fox assumed a fighting stance with the other, now frightened, enemy. He held his knife upside down, close to his chest, and extended his other arm, his hand out stretched.

They locked eyes, and stared each other down.

"This ends now!" the ape yelled.

Fox bared his teeth and squinted his eyes.

He pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"What?!"

The gun misfired.

With a battle cry, the vulpine charged the wide eyed ape. The primate threw down his gun and widened his stance.

Fox swung his blade, cutting the ape across the chest, making him stumble backwards into the hallway.

"Come on!" Fox taunted.

The ape threw a punch; Fox dodged out of the way underneath it and tackled him. Fox ran with the ape a couple of feet and then slammed him down to the ground at the foot of the main hall way. Now being right over his attacker, he raised his knife with both hands, and trusted it towards the ape's neck.

The knife stopped right before it reached its destination. The Andross troop grabbed Fox's writs and with all this might held the blade from digging into his throat.

Their eyes were locked in as they struggled, both of their arms shaking madly, struggling as hard as they could to either save, or take a life.

Then the ape gave out a loud roar, and threw off Fox, sending him flying down the hall. He hit the ground, bouncing and tumbling across the hard metal floor. He came to a stop lying face down on his stomach. He threw up his head and then started climbing back to his feet, the ape doing the same, now more determined than ever to kill Fox. Fox glanced to his left, and right next to him was Falco, propped up against the shattered pool table. He was knocked out, or even worse, dead, but there was no time to check.

"I will break you!!" The primate screamed as he charged Fox, his arms outstretched.

The brute reached Fox and threw another punch with all his might. Once more Fox dodged the swing, counter punched, and slashed with his knife. This time the ape was ready and grabbed Fox's arm that was holding the blade. Fox struggled to get his arm free from his power full grasp. Then Fox rolled up his free arm, and continually elbowed the ape in the face, over and over. Finally the grip was broken and Fox laid into the ape with a barrage of hits, causing him to stumble back with each punch Fox threw. They were nearly to the door of the bridge when Fox threw one more hook causing the dazed troop to spin around and fall against the wall.

This was his chance.

Fox jumped on his back and got his arms around the battered ape's neck, assuming a sleeper hold.

The primate reared up like a bull, lifting Fox's feet off the ground. He trashed all around, unable to breath, trying to get the vulpine off his back. He slammed Fox against the wall over and over, trying to get free, but he couldn't break his grip.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the struggling finally stopped. They both fell to the ground, both of them seeming to be devoid of life.

The ape appeared dead, but Fox didn't want to take any chances.

He lifted the apes head, and slit his throat.

Fox dropped his knife to the floor in shame, it was the most murderous thing he had ever done, but he had no more energy to fight.

Then he struggled to his feet yet again, this time holding on to the nearby wall to help himself up. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he felt like his back was broken from being slammed up against the side of the hallway.

He stumbled to the center of the main hall, and peered down it. He saw smashed tables and the walls were shot up; it was a war zone. At the end of the opposite side of the hall, the walls were singed and smoking and the floor was littered with charred, dead bodies.

"They must have put up a real fight." Fox said to himself.

Peppy hobbled out of the mess hall, bloody and bruised, holding his back, and a blaster in hand.

He instinctively drew his weapon at the figure at the end of the hall way, but then stopped and lowered his gun.

"Fox?!"

Fox was relieved to see another living soul that wasn't out to kill him, "Peppy! You made it!"

"Fox what the hell is going on? How are you- Oh no, you didn't use that adrenaline kit did you?"

Fox nodded his head.

"You kids are fucking crazy. You could've killed yourself!" Peppy said, making his way down the hall toward Fox.

"Well, it was either that, or," Fox looked down at the dead ape, "They would've had the honors."

That stopped Peppy in his tracks, "Shit, you got a point Fox."

"Oh Christ, my freakin' head!"

"Falco!!"

Falco awoke just as Peppy got to where he was laying, smashed through the table.

Peppy got down on one knee, checking the busted up avian, "You alright?"

"How many times are you gonna ask me that today?" Falco complained.

Peppy cracked a smile and sat down next to Falco, "Yeah, you're fine."

"Man, I know it's gonna hurt like a bitch tomorrow." Falco sighed.

Peppy helped the battered bird to his feet.

Falco did a double take and saw Fox leaned up against the left side of the end of the hall way, "What the hell are you doing? What, were you faking it?"

"Nice to see you too, Falco," Fox replied.

Fox looked around, "Where's Slippy??"

"He's somewhere, hiding." The avian responded.

"Well, then we made it! We survived!" Peppy cheered.

Fox forced a smile, "Wish I could've been there."

"Oh man, you missed out McCloud. Peppy had me fire a rocket down the hall, it was fucking awesome. I thought the old timer lost his mind."

"What?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, as you can see, we had a barbecue...SHIT FOX LOOK OUT!"

Fox snapped his head up, as out walked the remaining ape with the broken, dangling arm, and holding up a readied plasma rifle to Fox's head with the other. Fox completely forgot about him.

Fox didn't have the reflex's he had earlier, the adrenaline wore off, and he was back to barely being able to hold himself up.

He closed his eyes.

"DIE, FOX MCCLOUD!!"

"Peppy, SHOOT HIM!"

A shot rang out. Blood splattered against the wall.

Another body hit the floor.

"God _Damn!_ Nice one Slip!!" Falco said, his jaw hanging open.

Fox opened his eyes, the Ape was dead, and his head was blow clean off.

The shocked vulpine, now with blood all over his face, turned his head and saw Slippy peering out from rec room, still aiming down his sites.

Slippy dropped his gun to the ground and then passed out.

They were all stunned, Peppy, Fox, and Falco all exchanged wide eyed glances at each other. They just couldn't believe it.

Fox put his back against the wall and slid down it, coming to a rest on the floor.

"Hey you okay Foxie? Falco asked peering his head over all the destroyed cover they set up from before."

"Yeah, I'll be fine_, _is Slip okay?"

Falco hobbled over to the fallen frog, and checked his pulse, "Yeah, he's fine, I guess he just couldn't take it anymore."

Falco looked up and down the hall, it truly was the aftermath of a war zone. Blood and bodies everywhere, and the tables and other assorted items used for cover were smashed to pieces.

Falco walked over to Fox, and sat down next to him with his back against the wall.

He put up his fist, and Fox returned the favor and bumped it with his.

Then they just sat there, tired and exhausted, and stained with blood and bruises.

Falco turned his head towards Fox, "Can we fucking go home already?"

* * *

**_Thanks for reading! More to come soon!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Authors note: Time for another update! Now we really get into what this story will be about. As always I would like to thank Snake Of The Rose for helping me come up with names, a new chapter title, and being my epic editor._**

**Please Read and review! Enjoy.**

**_Chapter 4: Harmful If Swallowed_**

* * *

-Corneria City, West Side, 7:00 a.m., 1 week since the end of the war-

It was a cold, Wednesday morning in Corneria City. A storm was rolling in overhead; dark gray clouds covering the rising sun in the east. The streets were slowly beginning to come back to life. Since news of the war coming to an end, people have started to venture outside once more. Much of the relief effort was being put into practice as well. Set up in many parts of Corneria City were military camps that gave out supplies to people who were in need. Many lost their homes during the war, and were able to stay at the camps for the mean time until they were relocated to government provided homes. Clean up crews now fill the streets, clearing away downed fighters, civilian wreckage such as destroyed cars and city buses, and rubble from many of the destroyed buildings throughout the city. Other parts of the metropolis were luckier than others, and didn't suffer the same amount of collateral damage, unlike the downtown areas that were almost completely brought to the ground.

The west side of the city was a more densely populated area full of towering lower class apartment buildings. It was also full of smaller mom and pop businesses that were beginning to reopen to the public. Many people migrated to this part of the city in hopes of finding a place to live but all the apartments were full and had no vacancy. There was a great deal of people who are homeless and have nothing. The economy was brought to a halt, and no longer were necessities sold to the masses; they were issued. Food, water, clothes, gas, and many other things were priced so high, that the middle and lower class citizens could not even begin to afford them. So, they were issued what they could live off of every week by the government until things became stable again; that wasn't going to happen for years however.

The post war depression had begun.

The fact that war was over didn't change the fact that you may have lost everything to it. It was a harsh reality, things don't just magically get better over night, it takes a lot of time, and a lot of money. Rebuilding Corneria would cost billions, and that's after the millions it will cost cleaning it up. It might take at least half a decade before the lives of the Cornerian people can return to normal or at least begin to.

For many though, the idea of living a normal life again didn't seem possible. Thousands upon thousands of people were mentally scared from the attacks on Corneria. There wasn't any help for these people; they suffered in silence, and slowly lost their minds. Suicides were on the rise, a lot of people just didn't know how to cope with everything they were forced to go through. Crime also spiked because the desperation got to a lot of the poorer citizens, and they just weren't getting enough of what they needed to live, which forced them to find other ways of satisfying those needs. On top of that, there were hundreds of thousands that were sick and dying out in the streets and unable to get to camps the military set up. Help wasn't getting to the people, and it didn't look like it was about to change any time soon.

In the eyes of the people, the system was broken.

In the eyes of someone else however, the system, was perfect.

--

--

"Yeah, right here should be fine, thanks again."

The rat taxi driver turned to his passenger in the backseat, "No prob, that's gonna be seven bucks."

The young coyote reached for his back jean pocket, "Alright."

He got out his wallet and pulled out a ten for the driver, "Here's ten, keep the change."

The rat took the money from his paw and smiled, "Thanks buddy, thanks a lot."

"Hey, not a problem, you're pretty brave for driving around only a week after the war has ended."

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, this is how I make my living, and someone's gotta do it my friend," replied the rat as he stared through the wind shield of his car, watching rain lightly fall upon it.

"Guess you're right. Hey, thanks again, names Aaron by the way." said the coyote reaching out his hand over the seat.

The rat reached over and shook his hand in return, "Name's Jack. Well Aaron, you take care of yourself out there, shits all messed up."

"You do the same, I'll see ya around."

Aaron opened the taxi door and stepped out on to the cold, wet sidewalk. He closed the taxi door behind him and waved to the driver as he drove off in search of another customer. The young coyote's ears twitched with every rain drop that fell upon them. He pulled his hood of his black hoodie over his head; his snout just barely sticking out from underneath it, and pulled out a piece of paper that said, "614" on it.

"It's gotta be close by," He thought to himself.

Aaron made his way down the sidewalk with his hands tucked away in his pockets, occasionally glancing at the address numbers of the numerous apartment buildings that lined the streets.

"Eh, I should probably just ask." He thought to himself.

There was no point just wandering all over the streets in the rain like he was.

Aaron noticed a small coffee shop on corner of an intersection he was approaching and decided to ask someone inside if they knew where 614 was.

He pushed open the door and it set off a small jingle letting the owner know a new customer was entering the shop.

The shop owner, an older raccoon, came strolling out of the back room behind the counter, "Hey how ya doin'? What can I get for you?"

It was a small yet, cozy little cafe. The aroma of the many different types of coffee beans filled the air. It had somewhat of a ranch style theme to it. Wood floors, wood tables, and an old fashion couch were placed by a red brick style fire place. The counter had a large cold case full of pastries and sandwiches that all looked home made, and appealing to the eye. A few other customers were quietly sitting nearby the warm, cracking fire, sipping their hot drinks and enjoying the hospitality that was _very_ hard to come by these days.

Once more the raccoon asked his new customer of the morning, "So, anything I can get for you?"

Aaron snapped out of the comforting daze that the coffee shop bestowed upon him, "I'm sorry, uh actually I was just wondering if you could help me find the address 614?"

"Oh, okay, " The raccoon showed a little bit of disappointment but then snapped out of it, trying to remain friendly, " Yeah, you actually aren't all that far from it."

The young coyote pulled back his rain spotted hood, "Oh really? I figured I wasn't too far off."

"All you gotta do is keeping going north, up Main street here, and after about, two blocks, turn right on the uhh, the corner of Evercrest, yeah that's it, and it should be right there. It's a ten story building, you can't miss it."

Okay, great, thanks a lot," Aaron said as he started to make his way toward the door.

"No problem... Hey, you sure you don't want anything? It's pretty bleak out there; you may want something to keep you warm." The shop keeper was determined to not let Aaron leave without something in hand, but at the same time, was genuinely sincere about the wellbeing of Aaron.

With his hand outreached for the door, Aaron stopped and thought for a second. It was pretty frigid outside, so maybe something warm to drink couldn't hurt.

The coyote turned around from the door and walked back to the counter. "Okay, why not."

"Ah! That's more like it! So what will you have?"

Aaron looked up at the menu above that listed all the different drinks, coffee, and other things such as sandwiches to order.

Aaron gave a clumsy smile, "Do you have hot chocolate?"

"Ha! You didn't look like a coffee drinker, sure, one hot chocolate coming up, that will be ten dollars."

"What?!" Aaron responded, shocked.

"Sorry, that's the price."

"Wow I had no idea things were this bad, ten bucks for a hot chocolate?"

The shop owner sighed, "I barely get any business these days, the war really ruined everything for everyone. No one can afford my prices now, but I can't afford to lower them because then, I won't be able to keep this place open! I had to let go of all my employees as well."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Aaron replied, not really knowing what to say.

"It's okay; hopefully I can out last this depression and not have to lock up for good. Business use to be booming, this place was always full of customers, but look now, its a ghost town. All the regulars, I haven't seen them in ages, they could be dead for all I know. This shop was my pride and joy, but now, I'm not sure if I can keep it around. I hate the idea of starting all over, like almost everyone has to these days."

Aaron really felt for the owner, and really wished there was something he could do to help, but he was in no position to anyway.

"Alright." The coyote pulled out a ten, "Here you go, I'll take that hot chocolate after all."

It was the least he could do.

Taken back by generosity of Aaron, the raccoon smiled, "Thank you! Thank you so much! alright let me get that drink for you."

The raccoon gathered up what he needed to make the drink, mixed them together and poured it into a pot to warm it up.

"Sorry, it will be just a second. I don't have any boiling water ready at the moment."

"That's okay, no rush." Aaron replied.

The shop keeper popped open his old fashion register, and safely placed the money within its till.

"So, I didn't catch your name, I like to get to know all my new customers." implied the raccoon.

"Well you probably won't see me again anytime soon, I'm just passing through, I'm originally from Katina. Oh, and my name is Aaron by the way. Yours is?" Aaron asked, out stretching his arm over the counter for a hand shake.

"Just call me Jerry." The two shook hands, "So, Katina huh? What are you doing down here on Corneria? I hear things are doing a lot better over there."

"Yeah, we weren't hit as hard as this planet was so things aren't going as crazy on Katina, and to answer your question, I'm here to find my cousin and take him back home with me."

Jerry nodded his head, "I see. Does he live over at 614? Is that why are looking for that apartment complex?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"What's his name? I probably know him, I know almost everyone in this part of the city."

"His name's John. John McStacey."

"John McStacey?" Jerry's ears perked up.

"Yeah…Do you know him?"

"You're his cousin?"

"Yeah I am, so do you know him?"

"No wonder you looked like a familiar face, you must be a McStacey as well, and yeah, I know John. I haven't seen him in awhile, poor kid." Jerry sighed, "He lost his entire family during the 1st attack on this city. After that day he totally lost it, and has been on a downward spiral ever since. He use to be a good kid, he worked here about 2 years ago. He had so much spirit, and he loved his family; he seemed like he was really gonna go places. After he lost his family, he just gave up on everything. Now he's like every other hopeless ghost out there wondering the streets trying to find something to live for, and trust me, these days, that's really hard to come by."

This made Aaron a little nervous about his cousin's wellbeing.

Jerry continued, "You remind me so much of him, you seem like a good kid. It's really noble of you to come help him out, he really needs it."

Aaron was silent and lost in thought about how his encounter with John might turn out, with his head down, staring at the floor.

A timer went off signaling the drink was ready.

"Ah, it's finished." Jerry said, reaching for the pot of hot chocolate.

He poured the hot drink into a paper cup, put a lid on it, and set it down on the counter in front of Aaron.

The coyote had his hands in his pockets and was looking to the left, out the large glass windows in the front of the store. He watched the rain start to fall harder with a discontent look upon his face. He let out a deep breath; he was starting to get really nervous. He hadn't seen John in about 5 years, and he hated the idea of what he might find when he gets to the apartment.

"Hey, you okay?"

Aaron did a double take at the raccoon, nervously looking at Jerry, then back out the window, and then back at Jerry again, "Yeah, I'm sorry, I just... I don't know how to handle this. I didn't really think about how he has probably changed into someone completely different."

"People always change."

"Yeah, but not like this. Can you be honest with me? Just tell me what I might find when I get to his apartment, I gotta know what to prepare for."

"Honestly?" Jerry paused for a moment, then let out another mournful sigh, "I really don't know, it's been a long time since I have seen him. Last time I saw John, he was stumbling by the front of the store all drugged up on something, screaming about the end of the world at people. He had gained quite the reputation for doing stuff like that, but for the last few weeks, I haven't seen him once."

"Great..." Aaron said, snatching his drink off the counter.

"Seems like quite a burden has been placed upon your shoulders, kid."

"Taking care of my family is never a burden."

"Yeah, guess you're right. I would do anything for my family."

"Well Jerry, Maybe I'll see you around, thanks for the drink."

"Hey, thank _you_ Aaron. Good luck with finding John, and take care of your self out there. Get back to Katina as fast as you can." Jerry said with a hint of laughter.

"See ya." Aaron said as he walked out the door with his warm drink in hand.

He pulled his hood back over his head now that he was back out in the rain, away from the warm comfort of the coffee shop. Fog began to roll in as the rain fell from the heavens at a steady pace. It was so cold that day and it made Aaron shiver with each gust of ice cold air the storm blew. He sipped his drink as he walked, trying his best to stay warm.

Aaron began to make his way up Main Street towards his destination. His shoes made a, splish splash sound as he walked over the rain soaked sidewalk, passing by others who had to be out in the storm that day. No one said a word to each other. Everyone he passed by had their head hung low, and didn't make any attempt to greet Aaron as he ventured up the street.

He felt like a ghost himself.

Up ahead, he could see a street sign appearing through the fog on the corner he was approaching.

_Evercrest,_ it read.

He turned the corner, and there it was across the street from him, 614.

It was probably one of the most rundown apartment buildings in the area. It was a red brick building, complete with missing bricks, broken windows, and rusty fire escapes; one of which had snapped off half way up. Weeds were sprouting up from the cracked sidewalk of the apartment, and to really complete the scene, a car that was stripped of everything, sat on cinder blocks right in front of the old building. The way it barely stuck out of the fog gave it a very eerie feeling as well. It almost looked like the building was dead.

Aaron took a deep breath as he stood from across the street, uneasily gawking at the rundown apartment; his tail nervously stirring in all directions.

"Well this is it. Please still be alive John."

He gave a quick glance in both directions and made his way across the desolate street.

He had never been so nervous in his life.

Aaron drew closer to the front door of the apartment building, his anxiety grew with every step he took.

He was now at the foot of the small crumbling stair case that led up to the entrance.

He took a deep breath, "I can do this..."

Aaron climbed the stairs, reached the old wooden front door, swung it open, and stepped inside.

The coyote gasped at what he saw as the door closed behind him.

The main hall on the 1st floor looked like something you would see in an abandon building. The paint on the walls was chipping off, dead potted plants were scattered about, and it was poorly lit. Half of the florescent bulbs were either dead, or broken making it a bit difficult to see. The apartment had an art deco look to it; this building was ancient. The floors were covered with dirty white square tile, the walls were mostly wood paneling until it turned to bare white walls half way up, and rundown old fashion furniture littered the entry hall.

"Christ, I can't believe people still live in this place." He thought to himself.

Aaron turned to a row of old mail boxes that hung on the wall nearby. He looked over the names on each one, reading the small pieces of paper within a slot on the front of each box. Most of them were to hard to make out since they were so old and weathered.

"Smith, no…Jackson, no…Andrews, no. Come on, where's McStacey?"

There were hundreds of mail boxes, "This might take awhile."

A few minutes went by, and finally Aaron found what he was looking for, "Ah! Here we go, McStacey, room 512. Fifth floor eh? Great..."

Out of curiosity, Aaron felt compelled to take a look inside the mailbox. They were the kind that had a lock on the face of the small door, so he needed a key. He decided to try anyway trying to grip the edges of the mailbox's door with his finger tips. He gave it a jerk, and like nothing the door broke off entirely, spilling mail everywhere. It seemed that no one had checked the mail box in a long time. Letters, bills, junk mail, this didn't make Aaron very confident that John was even still here in the building. He took a closer look at some of the pieces of mail and saw the post date was almost 2 years old on some of them.

He gathered up as much of the mail as he could to take to John, but the fact that was so much really worried him, "God I hope I'm not too late."

He was a bit confused, we was told not to long ago that John was recently seen but a few weeks ago, and he had mail that dates nearly two years back.

He started to make his way down the hall, towards the elevators, passing the ground floor apartment doors. It was so quiet, not a sound could be heard. Maybe this place was abandoned and maybe John wasn't here after all. Something pushed Aaron onward however, he wasn't certain that his cousin wasn't in this building, so he felt compelled to keep searching. He reached the elevators and pushed the "up" button that was mounted in between them.

Nothing happened.

He pushed again and again to no avail.

"Looks like I'll be taking the stairs." He blankly said to himself.

Suddenly he heard a loud crash behind him, which made Aaron jump around, almost throwing the mail in his hands everywhere.

Apparently, one of the sections of mailboxes fell off the wall and broke into piece's upon hitting the ground.

One of the apartment doors creaked open and an old hyena wearing very ragged clothing, stuck out his head, looking for what caused the loud disturbance.

He looked at the broken mail box and then whipped his head around at Aaron and gave him a unpleasant glare.

Looks like this place wasn't abandoned after all.

"Did you do that?!" the hyena demanded to know.

"Uh...no! I didn't! It just fell off, I swear!"

"Hey, I've never seen you before, who are you, why are you here?" The hyena snapped, leaving the doorway of his apartment, making his way toward Aaron..

Now he was standing right in front of Aaron, eye to eye, with a very irritated look on his face.

"I uhh, I'm just here to see my cousin, please, I don't want any trouble." The nervous coyote stammered out.

"Who is your cousin?"

"Juh...John McStacey."

"What? That nut job? Haha!" The hyena broke into a cackling laugh. "Oh please, another McStacey, just what we need! I hope you're not as fucked up as he is."

"What?! How dare you! He's been through hard times! He lost his family! He-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever! He's no different than everyone else around here. We have all lost something to the war, just like that McStacey kid. He had a chance to leave this place, but he chose to stay. He just couldn't let go of the fact that he lost something he could never get back. Now he just sits up in that empty apartment, slowly destroying himself with whatever he can find. Please do us all a favor, and take him the fuck with you on your way out, we don't want him around here anymore."

And with that, the hyena turned back to his apartment and slammed the door behind him.

Aaron had no idea what he was in for, he was genuinely scared at what he might find. He made his way over to a large metal door that was labeled, "stairs" and pushed it open. The stairway had a musty smell to it causing Aaron to cough into his hand after a deep breath of the stale air. Faint rays of daylight seeped through the dirty, grate covered windows on each floor.

He started making his way up the square stairwell.

2nd floor.

3rd floor.

4th floor.

Finally he reached the 5th floor. Above he heard the slam of a door as some one else entered the stairwell, and started making their decent down followed by the sound of hurried foot steps. Aaron didn't feel like having another encounter like the one he did with the hyena on the ground floor, so he quickly passed through the door and entered into the hallway of the 5th floor swiftly closing the door behind him.

It was almost the same scene as the ground floor, just another run down depressing site to behold, and most of the apartment doors were boarded off.

"How could anyone live like this?" Aaron thought to himself.

He slowly walked down the hall, mail in hand, looking for John's apartment number.

509, 510, 511, 512...

He finally had arrived to his destination; the time had come.

Aaron's heart was starting to race, and his hands started to tremble.

"Okay, okay, I'm alright, this is going to go fine, everything is going to be okay, I bet he will be happy to see me anyway, yeah...I'm gonna be fine, I'm gonna be just fine."

He tucked the mail under his one arm, and raised his other to knock on the door.

He knocked a few times, although not very loudly, and waited.

Nothing, not a sound.

"John? Are you in there? It's your cousin Aaron, open up."

Aaron knocked again, only this time much louder than before. Still nothing...

He reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist but the door was locked.

"Great, now what do I do…" Aaron wondered to himself.

He figured he would give it one more try before he went to plan B, "JOHN, OPEN UP!!"

Still nothing.

Aaron started to become worried, what if John was dead? What if finally did himself in because he just couldn't take the pain of his losses anymore? The way people talked about him, it could be a possibility.

"Alright John, plan B, I didn't come all this way to let a locked door stop me."

He stepped back from the old wooden door and glanced both ways down the hall to see if anyone was watching him.

Then he gave the door a swift kick. It rattled loudly from the impact and broke the deafening silence that filled the hall.

He kicked it once more without result.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He thought to himself.

With all his might, he gave it one more try and broke the door's deadbolt. The door swung wide open and slammed against the wall on the inside of the apartment.

Aaron was a little startled from what he just did, breaking into his cousin's apartment like that. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, a small wolf sticking his head out of another apartment doorway halfway down the hall.

The coyote turned his head and locked eyes with the child.

Frightened, the pup retreated back into his home, and slammed the door with locks falling into place soon after.

Aaron looked forward into the dark room before him and swallowed hard.

"This is it." He tucked away the mail in his hoodie's pocket and then cautiously stepped through into the apartment.

"John? Are you in here? It's me Aaron!"

It was so dark and the air was thick with an overpowering stench. He could hear the sound of trash being crushed underfoot as he made his way deeper into what seemed to be a small living room. He couldn't find a light switch but he could see daylight leaking in from the drawn blinds on the other end of the room. He blindly felt his way around the apartment towards the window, and tried not to trip on all the garbage that was on the floor.

Finally he made it to the window, "This will help." He said reaching for the pull string to raise the binds.

He grabbed tight and gave it a pull. The blinds shot upwards releasing a cloud of dust right in Aaron's face.

Surprised, Aaron let go of the string and covered his snout feverishly coughing and sneezing. The blinds came crashing down, ripping the entire frame right off the wall, exposing the window, and flooding the apartment with daylight.

Aaron opened his watering eyes as the coughing stopped and was dispirited at the site he beheld.

Dirt and blood stained carpet floors, an old couch turned in its side, news papers scattered everywhere, a shattered old television over in the corner of the room, crumpled beer cans, dirty clothes, empty prescription bottles, old moldy pieces of food, an old wooden dinner table that was broken in half, several holes were punched into the walls, an old china cabinet turned over and smashed, and many assorted picture frames that were cracked and snapped in half were only some of the many things that littered this apartment.

Aaron picked up one of the picture frames and took a look at it. Although the glass was shattered and the frame was broken, it still held a picture of better times. It was John and his family but only three years ago according to the date on the back of the photo.

It was John, his mother, his father, and his brother, at what looked like Corneria Central Park. The family of coyotes in the picture looked so happy.

Aaron pulled the picture from his eyes and clenched his fist as a tear rolled down his face. To think they were all gone; such a terrible thought.

He walked over to the kitchen counter, and propped up the frame the best he could.

A makeshift memorial.

He also pulled out the mail he found earlier and placed it on the counter as well, trying to keep in a neat stack.

Aaron took a look at the kitchen only to find it being as disgustingly filthy as the living room across from it. The sink was full of dirty and broken dishes, the counter tops were overcome with chipped and moldy tile, and the trash can in the corner was turned over, spilling garbage everywhere. He walked over to the refrigerator and opened it up. A strong, revolting smell punched Aaron in the face as the door swung open. Everything inside was spoiled many, many months over. The discouraged coyote closed the refrigerator door, and walked back over to the living room.

It couldn't be more clear...This apartment was abandon a long time ago.

John wasn't here.

It didn't make any sense. People claimed to have seen his cousin but only a few weeks ago and the way the hyena talked about him made it sound like he was here in the building recently.

Or maybe, he was here.

Aaron noticed the entryway to the hall that led to the bedrooms and bathroom off in the corner of the living room.

Yet again he stepped through all the trash and filth, making his way towards the unexplored parts of the apartment.

He was now at the foot of a small hallway that had two doors on the right side off the hall, and one at the end. The door at the other end of the hall however was crudely boarded off by wooden panels with rusty, bent nails. On the left side were windows so caked with dust that no sunlight could get through. The door that was boarded off had to be John's parents' room. Aaron could imagine his cousin doing something like that out of sheer anger, trying to block off memories he didn't want to revisit.

Aaron walked up to the 1st door he was closest to and placed his had on the doorknob. He gave it a twist and slowly pushed it open although he was extremely nervous about what he might find on the other side. With a loud creak the door reveled what it was hiding, Johns room, and it was just as run down as the rest of the apartment. This room was the strangest site out of the entire apartment however. The walls were covered in newspapers all headlining about the attack on the Lylat system, about the war efforts on other planets, Star Fox, and many other things related to the war. A lot of the articles however had many markings seemed to be drawn on by hand, and other small sticky notes placed over them. What made it all so frightening was the fact that Johns notes all seemed to be insane babble; he seemed to have really lost his mind. His notes spoke of conspiracies against Corneria and the rest of the Lylat system. The only other things in the room was an old dresser, a wooden desk with a computer set upon it along with many scattered papers and notebooks, and a bunk bed.

"A bunk bed?" Aaron thought to himself.

John did share his room with his younger brother though, so that made sense of it.

There was nothing here, so Aaron decided to check the last room before he left and searched elsewhere for his cousin.

He swung open the door and found the bathroom. It was filthy beyond anything he had ever seen. On the bathroom counter sat many different prescription bottles with John's name on them. He took a closer look at them. Anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, muscle relaxers, pain killers, and almost every drug you could imagine were scattered all over the place.

Aaron shook his head in disappointment, "Where are you John?"

He turned away from the bathroom door and made his way back to the living room thinking about what he should do now.

Now in the living room, Aaron took a seat on the old beat up couch and hug his head low. The only thing he could picture in his mind was his cousin dead in an ally somewhere. Why was he talking all those drugs? How did he get them? He could only imagine he used them to suppress the sorrow of losing his family and being all alone here on Corneria. Or maybe he really was ill and needed them in a legitimate manner.

Unlikely.

He remembered John when they were younger. He could never let things go and let every little mishap in his life bother him, so Aaron could see John choking down those pills every morning hoping they will help him forget what happened to his family. Aaron remembered getting that fateful phone call from John on the day of the 1st attack two years ago. He was in a hysterical, uncontrollable panic as he yelled about how he had to watch his family get slaughtered by the attack. John happened to be in the right place at the right time and was spared, but in all honesty, Aaron has no idea what happened that day. He just remembers his cousin mourning over what he had lost, he was so heartbroken and claimed he was going to take his own life, saying he was the one that deserved to be killed and not them. Aaron begged John to come to Katina and live with his family but he never agreed to and all space travel was put on hold because of the war anyway. It was only a a few days ago space travel was approved safe again and Aaron took it upon himself to come to Corneria and convince John to come back home with him.

The soft pitter patter of rain was heard against the living room window. Aaron was feeling a bit depressed himself because of how this trip turned out.

He glanced up and peered out the window that overlooked the broken cityscape.

He locked eyes with his faint reflection on window and asked himself, "Alright Aaron, now what?"

"I figured that was you." A voice came from behind startling Aaron.

Aaron whipped his head around with mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with surprise.

Standing before him was another coyote just like him, only a bit shorter and dressed in ripped jeans, and wearing an old, stained white t-shirt. His eyes were blood shot, his complexion was pale, his fur was grimy and discolored , and he held a brown paper bag in his hand.

It was John.

"Christ you scared the hell out of me, John." Exclaimed Aaron

"Oh I'm sorry, I tend to do that to people who break into my apartment." John snapped back.

Aaron got to his feet, "I'm sorry, I just, I thought you were...I just." He didn't know how to explain himself.

"Well, that really clears it up for me, good to see you too." John replied blankly as he gave Aaron a very insincere hug before he made his way over to the kitchen, "Oh you brought my mail. I have been meaning to get it myself, thanks."

John placed the paper bag upon the kitchen counter, and then looked up at Aaron who was somewhat puzzled by his apathetic attitude.

"I would have cleaned up the place if I knew you were coming." John said in an unemotional manner.

"I tried to call you. You never answered your phone!"

"Hmm." John scratched his head as if he was pondering deeply about something.

He snapped his fingers, "Ah! That's right I forgot." John walked over to his apartment phone that sat on the edge of the kitchen counter, picked it up, and without hesitation, threw it across the room. It flew past Aaron's head and smashed against the wall behind him, breaking into pieces.

"Phone's broke."

"Oh...shit, he has lost it." Aaron thought to himself as he stared at the busted phone that was now scattered all over the floor. "Do I play it straight? What do I do?" He was worried he might say the wrong thing and set his cousin off.

John dumped the contents of his paper bag onto the counter; more prescription bottles. John would pick each one up, examine the bottle, and then tap it on the counter a few times, and repeat. After he performed what seemed to be like a ritual task he neatly lined them up on the counter and pulled a dirty glass out of the sink.

Aaron walked up to the other side of the counter. "What are those?"

Johns head snapped up from looking down at the glass he was rinsing off, "What is what?"

"All these," Aaron reached for a bottle, reaching over the counter.

John's eyes grew large, "DON'T..." Aaron froze with his arm still out reached for a bottle. "Touch those please..."

Aaron obeyed and pulled his hand away, "Jeez, I'm sorry."

"...For what?"

"Wanting to see what you are taking?"

John filled the glass with water, and popped open on of the bottles, "Why do you care?"

"I'm your family; I care about what you are killing yourself with!"

"That's pretty harsh."

John scrunched his brow, carefully poured out a couple of small white capsules, and tossed them in this mouth. He took a large gulp of water, threw his head back as he swallowed, and then slammed the glass down on the counter. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

Aaron's ears turned backwards as he was yelled at; this wasn't going very well. It has only been a few minutes and he could already see John was very distraught. He thought his cousin would be happier to see him after all these years but he was acting as if he detested his presences.

"I'm here to take you back to Katina with me."

John choked down some more pills, "No thanks."

There was no point in beating around the bush, "John, we know what you have been dealing with. Please, come with me, your more than welcome at my family's home. There's nothing left for you here so please, come with me back to Katina."

"You have no idea what I'm dealing with."

In a serious tone Aaron replied, "Enlighten me then."

"Sure, what I'm dealing with right now is some asshole who broke into my apartment, and thinks he knows what's best for me, when he doesn't know shit, and that's what I'm dealing with right now."

Aaron rolled his eyes, "Oh I'm sorry! Sorry for caring! Sorry I came all the fucking way to Corneria to see my only relative left on this planet so he could come home with me and have a chance at a better life. Yeah, I sure wasn't thinking clear on that one, sorry."

"Yeah me too, you seem pretty upset about it." John took some more pills.

"What are you taking!?"

"My medicine! What are you, my mother? What business is it of yours?" John snapped, his right eye twitching.

"What is it for?" Aaron demanded.

"You don't want to know. I don't think it's working either because I can still see you."

"Ugh! Why are you being like this!? I though you would be happy to see me or something. Or maybe thankful that I came to get you out of this shit hole."

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place isn't it, thanks for noticing."

Aaron was starting to get frustrated, "John...Look, the war is _over._ You can begin to move on now. I'm really sorry what happened to your family, I would have come sooner but that wasn't an option for me. It's time to let go, it's time to move on, I can get you help."

John locked eyes with his concerned cousin, "Do you really think it's over?"

"The war? Yeah I do, haven't you seen the news or anything? Star Fox ended the war! It's pretty clear now that it's over."

"You know what I think? I think its the exact opposite of _over._ I think it's just begun really."

"What the hell are you talking about! Have you totally lost it?"

"Wait here." John asked as he left the kitchen and walked over to his room.

A few minutes went by and John walked back out into the living room with a news paper in hand.

"Isn't it amazing? This day and age, and they still print newspapers." John casually stated.

He laid the paper out on the kitchen counter and then turned to Aaron, "Come look at this."

Aaron looked down at the article and read the words, "Hospitals over run with sick and dying patients. Experts can not pin point exact cause of sudden outbreak of this mystery disease plaguing parts of Corneria City."

He went on to read the article.

"_It has been one week since the end of the war and things have only seemed to gone bad to worse within that time. If one were to imagine walking the streets of Corneria City today, you would picture a grand celebration, parades in the streets of our men and women in arms returning home, and the signs of happier times that are soon to come. I haven't seen anything close to that. All I have seen these days are locked doors and drawn curtains. This city is a ghost town. The only place I have seen people gather together is at our medical facilities. Thousands are sick and dying in this city and none of the so-called "experts" can draw a conclusion as to why this is. There was no biological attack on this city, and there has been no evidence of anything kind of new epidemic spreading. People are just sick. Sever flu cases, heart problems, psychological problems, are some of the most common symptoms of the hospitals visitors. As anyone knows, it's not flu season, but all over the city people are coming down with the illness and, as the statistics have been showing, most die from it within a matter of days. Heart attacks have becoming alarmingly more common within the younger demographic; ages, 20-45. There need be no explanation about how unusual that is being the fact heart attacks tend to only affect the elderly. Psychological illnesses have spiked as well affecting citizens of all ages. Chronic depression, hallucinations, and schizophrenia, are just some of the few diagnoses doctors have been making on hundreds of people. The many military checkpoints throughout the city are issuing many different types of medication to the public as a response to the outbreak of the many different illnesses. Many don't think that is the right solution however, and want answers rather than quick fixes. Our government has issued statements claiming the war has caused this and in time things will slowly return to normal. How can the end of a war that mostly took place outside of Corneria possibly cause an outbreak of advanced versions of these everyday illnesses? Maybe it's something we aren't seeing that is causing this, maybe it's a silent biological attack, or maybe it's the planet responding to a natural disturbance. What it ever it may be, we need to figure it out soon. This war has been officially over for a week now, but the body count is still on the rise. This epidemic needs to be controlled before it spreads to other planets and becomes a system wide problem. The biggest mystery of this entire debacle is it has only been affecting only certain areas of the city, the West side and South side_ _downtown area, and the suburbs which are north of the city. This leaves everything in the middle totally unscathed by this strange disease. Why would the suburbs, about 30 miles away, be effected by this before the central downtown area? I just doesn't make any sense at all, diseases just don't leap frog entire areas, how can that be possible? Talks of quarantining the effected parts of the city until this problem is resolved have passed through meetings of higher government. People are scared, and seem to be more frightened now than when the war was still taking place. The war may be over, but it appears that something entirely different has just begun. So for now, many stay locked away in their houses, doors locked, the curtains drawn and popping pills to get them through the day. We need a solution soon, before this turns into something much worse than the war ever was._

Aaron slowly lifted his head from looking down on the news article and found John on the other side of the counter again, staring him down.

"So you wonder why I take all this shit. There you go," said John.

"This...This is for real?" Aaron replied, with a nervous shake in his voice.

"Ha! Aren't you real glad you came here now? As you can see we are having a real good time ever since the war ended."

"Christ, I had no idea. They haven't said a word about this on Katina."

"That's for sure, you probably wouldn't be here right now if you knew about this."

"That's not true! Hey, we are blood, we are family, and I look out for my family. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here but at least I made it."

"What are you sorry for? I didn't ask for you to come rescue me, and I'm doing fine anyway so what the hell makes you think I would want to leave Corneria?!"

"Fine?! You're doing fine?"

"Well sure, then you came along, broke my dead bolt and ripped the blinds off the wall so, maybe a little less than fine right this moment, but sure, I _was_ doing just fine!"

"Bullshit! You show me this newspaper that says people are mysteriously dying by the truck loads, your apartment looks like a dump, and you are choking down enough pills to fill a pharmacy with and you tell me your doing fine?"

John let out a quick laugh and gave a crooked smile. "More or less."

Aaron hung his head and placed his hand over his eyes, "You have lost it John."

"You have lost it John, you have lost it John, you have lost it John, YOU HAVE _LOST IT,_ JOHN. You know how fucking tired I am hearing that?! DO YOU?!"

John grabbed the half empty glass off the sink and threw it over Aaron's head. The glass sailed across the apartment and hit the window causing it to crack as the cup shattered against it.

Aaron's eyes grew wide with fear and surprise, he was just totally shocked by what just happed, and he just sat there starting at his enraged cousin.

Then John totally snapped.

"I have _NOT_ lost it Aaron. Everyone _else,_ has lost it. No one sees that it's all crashing down around them. Everyone is in denial about that nothing is getting better at all! It's not going to get better, it's just gonna keep getting worse, and worse, and worse, until the entire city falls to the ground. I have seen it Aaron! I have seen, I have seen in my dreams, yes, I have seen the future; I know how this story ends. I have seen the buildings of this city fall over on one another, I have seen the sky lit on fire, I have seen what will become of all of us if we don't...open our eyes to this. Please Aaron, listen to me, you have to listen to me, you have to get out of here. You have to get back to Katina before it's too late for you! There is still time!"

Aaron was terrified by the insane speech that was just made to him. John was severely unstable and Aaron was afraid he might do something rash any moment.

John had more to say. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me? Don't they care? No they don't, no one ever seems to care anymore about anything and I know why. I know what is causing this. I know what is bringing this city to ruin once and for all."

John pulled another dirty glass from the sink, filled it up with water, and slammed it on the counter in front of his cousin.

Aaron looked down at the glass, "Uhh, no thanks, I'm not really thirsty."

"No stupid! This!" John pointed to the glass, "This is why everyone his getting so sick! This is the cause of all of the problems around here."

Aaron was totally confused and was still totally unsure how to handle the situation.

"John, it's just a glass of water, how could this possibly be harming everyone in the city."

"Damn, you are so thick. Look, last week the water was turned off in this building for two days. So that meant no water at all, no showers, nothing to take my pills with, nothing to drink, nothing."

"Yeah...and?"

"I went insane Aaron!"

"You're going insane RIGHT NOW!"

"Hey, fuck you. Look." John held up a bottle of pills, "You know what happens if you just go cold turkey on a muscle relaxer like this?"

"Well sure, you would go through with drawls. You would have to wean off of it like anything, it might even kill you."

"Thank you, you got it right for once. Yes you go through with drawls when you change a daily routine of giving your body something it thinks it needs to live. Your body goes haywire! The two days I went without being able to drink any of the city's water were two days I had never felt so close to death in my life."

Aaron finally figured out where his unbalanced cousin was going with this.

"No, that can't be, I don't believe it." Aaron said with much discredit.

John picked up the cup of water and held it out towards his cousin, "Then drink it."

Aaron hesitated, but why would he believe such a thing? Especially something coming from someone as crazy as John.

"Come on, you say you don't believe me, prove it."

Aaron took the glass from his hand.

He held the glass up to his snout and stared at the glass.

A few seconds passed, it was dead silent.

Aaron let out a sigh, and set the glass down on the counter.

John's ears perked up in surprise, "So, so you do believe me?"

"So what you're trying to tell me is there is something in the water that's causing all this?"

"YES!! Thank you!! Finally, someone believes me."

"I'm not totally convinced John, give me something more than some crazy theory."

John ran back to his room once more.

Aaron could hear him talking to himself, "Where is it? I just had it? AAH! Here it is!"

He came stumbling back out of his room with another news paper in hand and then handed it to Aaron.

"2nd page, 3rd article down, read it."

Aaron flipped to the second pages and read the news piece aloud, "In attempts to find new ways to protect the general public from serious threats against our everyday ways of life, the government has approved funding for the research of a drug that could be implemented into our water system that would protect citizens from biological terrorist attacks if one was to occur."

There was much more to the article but John had read enough; a chill ran down his spine.

" When was this printed?"

"Five years ago."

"No, I don't buy this, this just can't be. How could they do something like this?"

"My theory? They shut down this operation because the people didn't want to be poisoned on a daily basis but they kept doing the tests away from the public eye. Andross comes along, biological weaponry and all, scares the shit out of our military, so they decided to finally implement this new form of weapon against biological attacks, but don't tell anyone. Little do they know this shit is more addictive than any other form of heavy narcotics. The bio-attacks never happen, and now everyone is drugged unknowingly everyday for no reason at all. They won't tell us they fucked up Aaron. If they did, well, one could only imagine the outrage it would cause."

"So basically, what you're telling me is there's something in the water that's making everyone sick? And the government is behind it? And they won't fess up?"

"...Yeah pretty much, you believe me right? I mean it makes perfect sense doesn't it?

"John I don't know, I just, I just got here and already, everything has gone freaking crazy on me, no offense."

"None taken, and yeah, it doesn't take much to see that things aren't going so well for this city."

"I just don't know, I'm sorry but you could imagine this being a little hard to wrap my head around, this is like something out of a movie!"

"Listen, I have some friends, that use to work for labs and stuff, and they are doing test on the water to find out if I really am crazy or not, just a couple of more days Aaron, if I'm wrong, I'll go with you back to Katina."

"But if you're right?"

"We need to tell someone, we need to get the word out, we need to let the people know the truth!

"Who would we tell? Who would believe such a thing?"

"Star Fox!"

"How the hell would you get to them?!"

"We would have to find away! Please Aaron, you don't know how important this is, the entire city could be dead within a couple of years!"

"NO, THIS IS CRAZY." Aaron slammed his fist on the counter.

"NO AARON THIS IS NOT CRAZY! THIS IS FOR REAL-"

"JUST SHUT UP!! You are choking down anti-psychotic medication and you honestly believe that I'm going to by this shit, you really are crazy John, you have fucking lost it!"

"NO! NO I AM NOT CRAZY!! THIS IS FOR REAL, OPEN YOUR EYES! OPEN YOUR-your..."

John suddenly stopped yelling and a blank stare was drawn upon his face.

"John?"

John dropped to the floor, and started twitching violently and began to foam at the mouth. His eyes turned blood red, he clenched his chest, and tears were streaming from his eyes as he choked and gagged, gasping for air.

"OH SHIT! JOHN!!" Aaron got down on his knees beside his cousin in a panic, "What's wrong?! John, please! Oh God no, please."

Thoughts started racing through Aaron's mind, maybe he took too much of his medication, maybe not enough of it, or maybe it was something entirely different. Did he cause this? Did he push John off the edge? He couldn't think straight.

He looked for a phone to call 911, but remember it was smashed against the wall not to long ago, "Shit, shit! God dammit John, why did you do that!"

John was still on the floor not calming down at all, he was getting worse if anything.

"HELP!!" Aaron screamed.

He ran to the door front door of the apartment, and threw it open. "Somebody help me! Please!!" He cried out.

He got no response.

"ANYBODY! PLEASE! MY COUSIN IS DYIING!"

Nothing, not a soul came to his aid.

He pounded on the doors of the other apartments, crying out for help, but no one would answer.

"PLEASE SOME ONE CALL 911!! PLEASE!! ANYBODY!!"

He ran back to the apartment, with panicked tears streaming down his face.

He found John on his back with blood streaming from his snout and his eyes, he was gasping for air and convulsing like crazy.

"John! John, can you hear me!"

John's eyes shifted towards his distraught cousin.

Aaron didn't know what to do, if he went for help he might not get back in time because he didn't know the city, and no one would respond to his cries for help, but if he staid here and hoped John would pull through, there could be a chance he would watch his cousin die.

"Please John. Don't die on me, not like this."

He clasped John's hand in his, and John squeezed it tight.

"Please."

* * *

_Thanks Again for reading everyone, more to come soon. _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Perceptions Of Normal**_

* * *

-The Great Fox, 23 hours from Corneria-

Slippy sat alone at the mess hall table. He was slouched to the side, holding his head up with his right arm that rested upon the tabletop. With his other arm he picked at a small, unappetizing plate of rations he managed to find within the mess hall cabinets.

He sighed. " I can't wait for some _real_ food."

Slippy looked up from his meal and looked around the room. It was still totally trashed from the stand off they had about a week ago. It was a depressing site that disturbed Slippy; reminding him of that horrific event. He never really talked about it to his other teammates, about how it just straight up freaked him out. He hadn't been able to sleep, his appetite had been shot, and now he always had that slight sense anxiety tying his stomach in knots. It's almost if he was waiting for something to happen again, for something to go wrong that would cost him his life. Now, it wasn't so much when he had to pilot his Arwing into battle so the rest of his team could make it out alive that ruined him. He was use to what comes with being in combat in his Arwing, and he could handle his emotions about that. What he wasn't used to however, was the sensation of holding a rifle in his hands, pulling the trigger, and taking a life. Sure, you could say it's the same thing about an Arwing; you pull the trigger, you take a life. It's not as personal though, you just see the ship crash and you move on. For the 1st time in his life he killed someone in a manner such as that and he couldn't get it off his mind.

Why did it bother him so much though? He had to do it! If he would have hesitated, Fox would have been killed and they would have had to make the week trip home without their Captain. His best friend would be dead right now if he didn't take action on that day. The thought of such a thing made Slippy even more sick to his stomach; losing his best friend, and with the way he was sometimes treated by Falco and Peppy, he felt like Fox was his only friend at times. Fox gave him respect and never doubted his abilities as a Star Fox team member. He couldn't imagine the disappointment that would be bestowed upon him if he let Fox get killed because of something he failed to do. For some reason, Slippy's thoughts of that final shot he took out weighed the fact that he was a hero to the team on that day. He should be proud of himself if anything. He proved himself to the team more on that day than he ever did before, yet still, all he could think about was...

"Ah geez, why am I thinking about this? It's done, it's over. Come on Slippy, pull yourself together..." Slippy slid his plate of food to the side and let out a soft moan, he wasn't hungry anyway.

If Slippy didn't talk to someone soon about how he felt about everything, he was going to lose his mind. Fox was finally doing better and was on his way to a full recovery, but still rested in the infirmary until they could get him properly checked out at a hospital; Peppy's orders. So Fox wasn't exactly the busiest person right now, so it seemed like a good time Slippy could have a talk with his close friend.

"Yeah, I'll talk to Fox, I'm sure he will have something to say that will make me feel better, he always does." The frog reassured himself.

He eyed his half empty plate of food, "Bah, better finish this. The last thing I need is Peppy barking at me about wasting food."

The sound of Slippy's fork scrapping the plate was the only sound that could really be heard at the moment. Aside from the gentle hum of the Great Fox, it had been _very _quiet lately. It almost seemed like everyone was just sitting around waiting to get home, and off the Great Fox. Usually it was their ship that gave them that sense of security; that feeling of home, but lately, it's only felt like a prison. They wanted to breathe some fresh air, see a blue sky, and just take a break from being trapped up in space all the time. It's funny how the most comforting things can become the most unnerving after awhile.

"I hope we can take a vacation..." Slippy let out another sigh, and took another bite from his plate.

He heard a throat being cleared in the hallway, followed by foot steps making their way down the cold, metal flooring. Slippy got a little nervous, maybe it was Fox, he might get the chance now to talk to him, what would he say to the vulpine? He didn't want to come across a wuss about the whole thing...But wait, the foot steps were too consistent...Fox wasn't able to walk so well as of the moment, so it had to be either Peppy or...

"Well look who it is, Mr. Head shot himself!"

It was Falco...

The avian passed through the doorway pretending to be holding up a rifle up at Slippy.

Slippy rolled his eyes, "Hey Falco..."

"What's crackin' frog boy?" Falco replied as he approached the mess hall cabinets.

"Nothing."

Falco stopped and turned his head towards Slippy who was sitting at the table to his right, "Huh, no shit."

Falco began to rummage through the cabinet to find something to eat.

"Jeez, do we got anything to eat?! This is totally empty!"

"We have a few of the military rations left, they are in the fridge."

Falco turned to the refrigerator. "Awesome, my _favorite_. You _sure_ we don't have anything else to eat around here?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure."

The avian peered over his shoulder at Slippy after that remark, "Man, why do you gotta be so hostile? I think you're hanging around me too much."

Slippy just sat there. He didn't have the energy to argue with the bird right now.

Falco took one of the tin containers out of the fridge and placed it on the counter. Then he grabbed a plate out of another cabinet, opened up the ration container, and dumped it's contents on to the plate. He then walked over to the microwave, placed his meal inside it, and punched in two minutes. The microwave whirred to life and Falco watched as his food spin around inside.

Falco stood there with his arms folded waiting for his food to cook, but then noticed Slippy sitting at the table with his head hung over. It was very obvious something was on his mind, so Falco decided to do what he does best.

"Hey."

Slippy looked up, "What?"

"What's wrong?" Falco asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Slippy shot back.

"Ha! No you're not."

"Yeah Falco, I am."

"Sure doesn't seem like it Slip."

"What? Why? What did I do?"

Falco waked over to the table, and sat down in the one of the chairs, and hung his head over, mocking Slippy.

"I'm _FINE _Falco." The frog jeered. Slippy scowled at his fellow teammate.

Falco laughed, "Ah!! See? I'll dig it out of you sooner or later."

The microwave started beeping, signifying it was finished warming up Falco's meal.

Falco lifted his wing and extended his index feather tip at Slippy. "Hold that thought."

He got up from his seat and wondered over to the microwave to retrieve his food. He popped the microwave open, pulled out the plate, and set it down on the counter. He grabbed a fork out of a nearby drawer and went on to take a stab at the ration.

"What the hell is this stuff anyway?" He held a fork full of a brownish green blob in front of his face.

"It's every type of nutrient the body needs to survive." Slippy blankly replied.

"So, it's a bunched of vitamins smashed together, de-lish."

Falco went to take his 1st bite, but then stopped and aimed his attention on Slippy once more, "Come on Slippy, what's the problem? Was it something I did? Huh?"

Slippy took his final bite of his meal, and shook his head, "No." Slippy swallowed. "It's not anything you did...it's just-"

"AWW GROSS," Falco spit out his food in the near by sink. The outburst startled Slippy, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Sheesh Falco, don't like it?"

"What gave you that idea Einstein? This shit is freaking horrible! It's not even warmed up! It's still ice cold!"

"Well, the microwave is broken!"

"Well gee, ain't that swell, _thanks _for NOT telling me."

"It's been broken for the last month! I figured you would've remembered!"

"What?! Did you _not_ see me put food in it a few minutes ago? Was it too much trouble to tell me then?"

"Well, I'm sorry! I have a lot of things on my mind."

"AH HA! So the truth finally comes out Slippy. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with me, no I'm totally _fine. _You are so full of crap."

Slippy clenched his fists and grinded his teeth.

"So when you gonna make yourself useful and fix this damn thing?" Falco complained, smacking the side of the microwave.

Slippy snapped.

"WHAT?! MAKE MYSELF USEFUL? You know _what _Falco? Who did most of the clean up the past few days around the Great Fox? ME! Who brought the lights back on when we blew a fuse the other day? ME! Who keeps our Arwings in the air?! Who makes sure we have just enough supplies, food, water, and keeps the Great Fox operational?! ME AGAIN! Who makes sure that our oxygen levels check out everyday? Who does _EVERYTHING _around here?! Me!"

Slippy was getting so frustrated that his clenched fists began to shake and his eyes started to well up.

"And Falco, Who was it that _saved _everyone's lives back on Venom? Is that not enough? Fox would be dead if it weren't for me!"

"Hey! I said good job! Don't you remember? What, do I have to kiss your ass everyday because you bailed us out? You wouldn't have done it unless I told you to anyway! Also, I saved _you _on a daily basis on the way to Venom, and I don't need you thanking me every two seconds! It's part of the job Slippy so get used to it! But you know what? I guess you're right and I'm really sorry I didn't help you clean up these last few days. I mean, It's not like I was smashed through a GOD DAMN _POOL_ TABLE! Today is the first freakin' day I can stand up straight! Shit, I thought my back was broken and you're bitching about how we don't do anything around here?"

Falco continued, "You know what, I think your _are _right Slippy, you do have a good point. I mean, who plans out all off our missions and gets all our tactical bullshit for each one? Peppy sure doesn't do that, he just sits on his ass all day. When we are out on a mission, who risks his hide and scouts the more dangerous routes to make sure we don't miss any bogeys on the battlefield? I sure don't! Fuck that! Oh, and who pretty much threw himself at death and killed Andross, and single handedly _ENDED THE WAR? _That sure wasn't Fox! Man I don't think he has done a damn thing since we left Corneria! So, yeah, you're right, you _do _do everything around here. So don't worry about the microwave, it's cool.

Falco tossed his plate in the mess hall's sink, "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Being fed up with Slippy's attitude, Falco turned to leave with his brow scrunched in a frustrated manner.

Before he exited the room he turned to the frog, rested one arm on the doorway, and calmly said, "You know Slippy, I would have been totally cool if you had something bothering you, and you wanted to get it out. I would have listened. But you shut me out, and let whatever it was bothering you build up inside, and then you go freaking crazy on me when I ask you a simple question. So either, you gotta learn how to deal will all the bullshit like me, or learn that Fox isn't the only one who will listen to you."

Slippy was caught off guard by what Falco just told him; it was very unlike the avian to show any kind of compassion or understanding.

Slippy thought for a second," Well...I didn't think you cared all! You're so, uh... most of the time, your a total..._ass._ That doesn't really make me wanna spill my guts to you. I just think you'll give me a hard time about it."

Falco laughed, "Well, now you know. And hey man, you guys are like my brothers. So it's only natural that I give you shit on an hourly basis. Just think of how boring it would be if I didn't."

Slippy shrugged, "I'm sorry Falco, I feel like a total jerk now."

"Eh, it's cool, you just remember what I said, alright?"

Falco put out his fist, "Hey, Brothers?"

Slippy grinned, "Brothers." He made a fist and bumped Falco's.

"Well, I'm gonna catch some Z's, you worn me out, so for now, if you still wanna talk, go wake up Fox."

Slippy rolled his eyes, "Thanks Falco."

"Yep."

The avian turned out of the mess hall to find Peppy leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed, and a smile on his face.

Falco just ignored him and walked by.

"Ha ha! Looks like ol' Falco's going soft." Peppy smiled.

Falco gave a half smile, shook his head, and flipped off Peppy before he turned into his room half way down the hall.

Peppy chuckled, "Hey, thats not very, _brotherly _of you!"

"Good night old man!" Falco yelled from his room as his door slid shut.

Peppy's grin remained as he shook his head, " I knew you had some good in ya."

"Hey Peppy?" The hare turned his head to find Slippy standing before him.

"Hey there Slip, what's on your mind?"

"Is uh, Fox still awake?"

"I don't think he is, you want to talk to him?"

Slippy nodded his head. "Yeah, before we land tomorrow, I doubt I will really get the chance to after that."

"Alright, I'll walk with you over to the infirmary."

The two started to make there way down the main hall of the Great Fox.

"I haven't seen Fox all week, how has he been doing?" Slippy asked.

"You haven't seen him all week? Why not?" Replied the hare.

"I don't know, It's just, I didn't want to bother him, I know he's still recovering from what happened on Venom."

"Well, I really doubt he would have felt, _bothered, _from you visiting him. Falco has been harassing him almost everyday."

"Well, that's not really the reason anyway..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, there's something I want to talk to him about, and I just haven't had the courage to face him about it."

"Hmm, well what might that be exactly? You can tell me. I have been around much longer than Fox has, so I think I know a thing or two more than he does."

"Okay, I'm still bringing it up to him though, this would be his call, I need his permission."

Peppy came to a halt with a puzzled look upon his face, "Slippy, what do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Slippy who was now a few steps ahead of him, stopped and faced Peppy.

"Well, I...uh, I want.. I want out."

Peppy was shocked by this information, "What? You want, _out_? You mean..You want out of, Star Fox?"

"Yes," simply replied the amphibian.

"Gosh, Really? Why is this?"

"Well, after what happened on Venom, I haven't been able to eat, sleep, I just... Can't stop thinking about it. I don't want this anymore, I just want a normal life, maybe go back to school, get my engineering degree, a normal job, a normal..._life. _I mean, I don't want to get _killed _for a living. Don't you ever get tired of this? Don't you want a normal life?"

"Well Slippy, I _have_ done this all my life. We all have different perceptions of normal, and this is normal for me. I couldn't imagine life being any other way."

"Well, I _can. _Look, the war is over. I did my job and I want to go home."

"We are going home Slip."

"I also want to _stay_ home."

"Well, I can't tell you that your wrong for feeling that way. You are young, you have a lot of life ahead of you. So for now, I think talking to Fox about this is a good idea. I'm sure he will understand. It pains me Slip to hear you talk like this, but, we all got to do what's best for ourselves I suppose."

"Thanks for understanding Peppy, means a lot."

Peppy nodded his head, "I don't know what we are going to do with out you Slippy, we will probably have to hire another technician like yourself."

"There's a lot of them, I'm sure you will find one in no time."

"Perhaps."

There was brief moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, well, I'm gonna go talk to Fox now. Thanks again for not making me feel guilty about this."

"Of course Slippy."

The frog turned away and walked down the hall, and disappeared around the corner that lead to the infirmary.

Peppy sighed, "Damn."

* * *

"JOHN! COME ON MAN. STAY WITH ME!! Shit...shit! What do I _do?!"_ Aaron cried out.

The panicked coyote sat on his knees next to his presumingly dying cousin, still clasping John's hand in his own.

John was shaking like mad, blood flowed from his snout as did foam from his mouth. He coughed and gasped for air as he held his other hand on his chest. Tears mixed with what looked blood rolled down his face; he seemed to be in terrible pain.

"John can you hear me? You with me? Come on, you can pull through this."

Aaron had no idea what was happening however, he just hoped it was something that John could indeed, _pull through._

John locked eyes with his cousin,"Hos-spital, now." He choked out.

"Okay, Okay, do you have a car? Do you have one John?? JOHN DO YOU-"

John shook his head.

"Well, where is the hospital? Can you tell me?"

"Down...town."

"_Dammit_." The downtown area was about 20 miles away.

"Okay, well, let's go."

Aaron grabbed Johns arm and sat him up, "Can you stand?"

John's eyes were tracking all over the place and glazed over. He then started to gag over and over, before he turned away from Aaron and threw up on the floor.

Aaron gritted his teeth with a worried look on his face, he then asked again, "John, can you stand?"

His cousin swiveled his head back at Aaron and gave him a agreeing nod.

"Okay then, on three I'm going to pull you up, Alright?"

John weakly sputtered out a response, "Ready."

"One...Two...THREE."

Aaron hoisted John to his feet but found that his cousin didn't have the strength to hold himself up.

His legs gave out but before he could fall to the floor, Aaron threw John's arm over his shoulder and with his other arm he had his cousin around the waste. With all his might, he held up his cousin and didn't let him fall to the ground.

"Oh..kay.. this isn't going to work. Okay John, please don't throw up on me."

"Huh?"

Aaron wrapped both his arms around John and lifted him up and over his shoulder.

He then stumbled backwards adjusting to the weight of his cousin, "Christ, your heavy. Alright, let's go." Aaron said, with a short breath.

Aaron carried his frail cousin out of the apartment and made his way down the hall towards the stairwell.

He took a deep breath and opened the stairwell door," Okay, its only 5 stories, I can do this. Ready John?...John?"

No response.

He could still feel John's heart beating, but now he became a bit panicked from the lack of any kind of acknowledgment.

"Alright, let's go." Aaron thought to himself.

He carefully made his way down the stairs with 160 pounds now on his shoulder. He could already feel some soreness start to develop in his shoulder but he had to press on, there were no breaks on this trip.

Aaron was almost to the 3rd floor when someone emerged from the stairwell door he was approaching.

A middle aged female feline was surprised by Aaron caring a limp body over his shoulder down the stairs.

"Hey! You! Please my cousin needs help! I don't know what's wrong with him! Please, can you call an ambulance or anything! PLEASE!"

"Oh god! NO! GET AWAY!" She screamed as she retreated back through the door from which she came.

"What?! UGH! What the hell is wrong with these people?!" Aaron frustratingly yelled out.

He continued down the stairs, keeping his breathing at a steady pace and trying to not drop his cousin.

Finally he reached the end of his descent, and with all his energy he could muster, kicked open the door that lead to the ground floor. He then trudged towards front door that appeared to act as the light at the end of the tunnel, light seeping through the edges of the door frame. He made his way over the fallen mail boxes and then arrived at the front entrance, placing his paw on the doorknob, and threw open the door.

"Whoa shit!" Aaron almost forgot about the small flight of steps that lead down to the side walk, and nearly tumbled down them.

He carefully walked down the steps, "Yikes, that would have not been good."

The rain was still pouring from the bleak sky above, quickly drenching the two as soon as they were out on the sidewalk.

"Okay, now what Aaron..." He thought to himself.

The streets were deserted. A car would pass by every now and then but no matter how loud Aaron cried for help they wouldn't stop.

Aaron began to lose his composure. He held his dying cousin over his shoulder, out in the pouring rain, in the middle of a city that apparently doesn't seem to care about anything anymore.

He looked around for a pay phone, maybe he could call 911 and get some help; none were to be seen.

He began to panic, "Okay, it's going to be fine John, I gotcha, you're going to be just fine alright? Alright??"

He ran for Main Street. "SOMEONE HELP ME!! ANYONE!!" He howled.

He figured he could take John back to that coffee shop from earlier this morning, and hoped he could call for help there.

He arrived at the intersection of Evercrest and Main and without waiting for the light to change, made his way through the crosswalk.

Suddenly the sound of screeching tires filled the air. Aaron's fur stood on end as he looked to his left, seeing the blinding head lights of a car coming towards him.

"Oh shit!" He dove forward and hit the ground hard dropping his limp cousin on the wet pavement.

The car came to a stop half way over the crosswalk and just _inches _from Aaron's feet. Hadn't he dove out of the way, he would have been run over.

"Shit, that was close," Aaron was on his stomach with John right in front of him on his back, appearing totally lifeless.

He got to his feet a little scrapped up, but nothing serious, and checked his cousin's pulse; his heart was still steady, "Oh thank God."

"HEY!" A angry voice yelled from behind, "What the fuck was that about? Are you okay?"

Aaron snapped his head around and saw something that gave him a little hope, and right now, that hope was a taxi cab and an angry rat.

"Jack?!" It was the taxi driver from earlier today.

The rat, still sitting in his cab, scrunched his eyes at the coyote. Soon his expression of anger on his face changed to surprise, "Aaron?!"

He threw open his door and ran over to Aaron,"For god's sake, what were you thinking? I almost mowed you down with my cab! What's going on here? Who's this?"

Aaron stumbled over to Jack, still shaken from the near miss, "Jack, please, my cousin here, I think he's dying, no time to explain, can you please drive me to a hospital? Please? No one will help me. Please Jack, you can have all the money on my wallet just please help me." He had tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah! Of course! Come on, let's get him in the back seat." Jack replied without hesitation.

The rat ran over to his taxi, threw open the back door, and hurried back over to Aaron. They both carried John over to the cab and laid him down on the back seat.

"Jeez, what's wrong with 'em?" Jack asked.

"I...I don't know, just out of the blue he just freaked out. He was totally fine and then this happened."

They buckled him in the best they could before closing the door. Then Aaron ran around the passenger front seat as Jack jumped in on the drivers side.

"How far to the hospital?" Aaron wanted to know.

"Uhh, it's downtown, so that's about 20 miles, so... I can get us there in 15 minutes."

"Okay, let's go, floor it!"

"You got it, And don't worry about money, this one's on the house."

With that, Jack pushed the pedal to the floor, the back tires breaking lose over the wet pavement. Soon the car lurched forward, and sped off towards the highway that would take them to the downtown area.

Soon they were flying down the road, plowing through the falling rain. Jack ran through stop lights and swerved around other cars that were getting in his way. Aaron didn't care, he had to get his cousin to the hospital.

Suddenly from the back seat came the sounds of maniacal coughing and choking.

Aaron twisted around to see what was the matter and saw John was going through another phase of convulsions as he clenched his chest.

"John! Hang in there, we are on our way!"

Jack looked in his review mirror, "What the hell is wrong with him? Is he having a heart attack or something?"

"I don't know! Just keep going."

"Don't worry, we'll make it."

Jacked was now on the overpass that crossed over the 135 Freeway.

"Hold on." Jacked warned.

He slammed on the breaks and made a hard left turn onto the freeway on ramp. He once more floored it, and the engine roared as he barreled towards the rain soaked freeway below.

"The freeway has been deserted for months, so, it might get a little rough on the way there."

"But you can get us downtown? No problem?"

"Of course. Don't worry, we'll make it."

Aaron peered out the windshield and saw many abandoned vehicles scattered all over the road in the distance. He took a final glance at John, who wasn't doing any better, and then turned his attention forward again.

It was only Aaron's first day on Corneria.

Now he was flying down an abandoned freeway, in an old taxi cab, at almost a hundred miles per hour, in the pouring rain, with his cousin who could be very well dying in the back seat.

Before he knew it, Jack was swerving around car after car that was abandoned out on the 135. All Aaron could do was hold on and hope they didn't crash.

"What's with all the cars?" Aaron asked

"Well, it's something the city has yet to get around to, these have been here since the first attack." Jack replied.

Some of the cars were blown in half, or completely smashed up in many assorted ways. Some covered with holes from laser fire, and others totally burnt to a crisp.

Jack continued," Yeah they got the bodies out, but yet to clean up the wreckage. Ha, technically, we aren't supposed to be on the 135 right now."

"What?!" Aaron's heart skipped.

"Yeah, it's not safe."

Just as Jack said that, they swerved around a 30 foot deep crater from what could have been a rather large explosion.

"Yeah, no shit." Aaron stammered out nervously. He looked ahead and saw the tall sky scrapers of the downtown area fast approaching as they continued to zig-zag down the freeway.

"Almost there, like 10 more miles."

"Good... Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you helping me? You don't even know me. You are practically risking your life, doing this."

"Yeah, but I know him." Jack motioned his head toward John in the back seat.

"What? You do?"

"Yeah, I knew his father, he was a good friend of mine. He was a good man, and John here was a good kid. Seems like it's the least I could do for the man, god rest his soul."

"Jeez, small world."

"Ain't that the truth. I'll tell you more about it later, but as for now, let's get to the hospital."

Aaron just remained quiet. It sure seemed that everyone knew John and his family in this city.

He turned to the rat, "Thanks again, seriously, I thought no one would help, everyone just ignored me."

"Like I told you before Aaron, shit's all messed up in this city nowadays, the people are changing, everything is changing, and not for the better."

"You have any idea why?"

Jack reached for a water bottle sitting in a cup holder in the center console. He took a drink from it and placed it back in the holder, "Not a damn clue."

Jack noticed Aaron staring at him with wide eyes for some reason.

"Uh, you can have a drink, if you want." he offered.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm... not really thirsty." _Dammit John, now I'm going crazy. _

* * *

Slippy stepped into the dark infirmary, searching for the light switch that was nearby. He found the switch, clicked on the lights, and lit up the room. Before him was Fox, sleeping on one of the beds, his ears twitching about as he slumbered. Slippy slowly approached the vulpine trying not to disturb him.

Fox was pretty banged up still from the Venom incident. He laid in bed, shirtless, and Slippy could see the bandages wrapped around his lower chest, Fox had a few broken ribs, and maybe a punctured or collapsed lung. Peppy stitched up the gash in his head from the crash the best he could, they couldn't leave the wound open. Fox peacefully laid on his back with his arms to his sides, the plain white sheets covering him from the waste down, and Slippy could hear a slight wheeze in his breathing.

Fox mumbled and turned on his side, his back now to Slippy.

Slippy gulped, "Uh, Fox? Fox?" He quietly tried to wake the snoozing vulpine, but with no result.

He grabbed Fox's shoulder and gave it a shake, "Fox, wake up."

Fox grumbled, "Falco, leave me alone."

"Fox, it's Slippy."

"Slippy?" Fox began to wake up.

Fox flopped on his back again, rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat. Then he turned his head towards the timid frog and cracked a smile, "Slippy? What's up buddy?" A yawned soon followed.

It seemed nothing could irritate Fox, not even being woken from sleep.

Slippy drug over a chair, and sat down beside Fox's bed.

"Hey, not much, just wanted to say what's up, that's all."

Fox sat up and gave a quick laugh," In the middle of the night?" he said, raising one brow.

"Well, uh, we are in space, so technically there isn't really, a middle of the night, so-"

"Slippy." Fox cut him off. "It's cool, so what's up?"

"I really need to talk to you about something." Slippy just decided to spit it out.

"Okay...What is it?"

"Well, I...Well, for one, I'm really sorry I haven't come to see you, I feel like a terrible friend. It's just after what happed, and...it's just...UGH. You could have died! That freaks me out so much!"

"Hey hey, Slippy, it's alright, I'm still here! Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened? _Everything _happened Fox. I shot someone and their _head blew up._"

"You save my life though Slip! I never did get to thank you for that."

"It's okay, look, It's just really bothers me Fox, I had have never done something like that, ever. I didn't plan on it either! We are Arwing pilots! Not infantry solders. I can't stop picturing that scene over and over in my mind. I just can't! How do you handle stuff like this Fox, you always seem like nothing ever bothers you, nothing scares you!"

Fox thought for a moment, "Well, you want to know a secret?"

Slippy attentively nodded his head.

"Well, when I crashed-landed on Venom, I was scared to death."

"Really? You were?"

"Swear to god. I mean, barreling towards the ground at Mach 1 can do that to you." Fox replied with a chuckle.

"_Fox_, come on."

"No! I'm serious! I really was scared."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Sure, why not. If it will help you feel better."

"I just want to know what happened."

"Well, okay, let's see. From what I remember, I took the last shot on Andross, and when he went down in flames, the whole base went up!"

"Whoa really?"

"Yeah, so I pulled a U-turn and punched it. For some reason though, my ship just didn't have the same amount of juice it did earlier. I gave it all I had, and made a break for the exit. It...was...insane... Flames all around me, I was dripping sweat, my ship lost a wing, my cockpit hatch was cracking from the pressure. Slippy at one point, I was totally engulfed in flames. It was all I could see."

"Oh geez! Then what happened?" Slippy was on the edge of his seat.

"To be honest, I gave up hope, and was waiting for the hatch to break and personally introduce me to the flames that surrounded my Arwing. But suddenly it all cleared, and I was home free! I arched out of it at the last seconds before my ship practically exploded in midair!"

"Crap! So you made it?!"

Fox laughed, "Yeah Slip, I'm pretty sure I did."

"Well, then what happened next?"

"Well, I thought I was home free, but before I knew it, my thrusters died, and I was now crashing towards the planets surface, totally out of control!"

"Is that what was happening after the last transmission you sent us?"

"I think, I don't really remember that in particular. But I _do _remember screaming for my life."

"Yeah, I do that even when I'm not crashing." Slippy added.

Fox laughed, " Yeah, well anyway the next thing that happened was I was able to get the thrusters back up in running but I forgot that I lost a wing earlier. So that didn't really help. I was able to get the nose up just a little, before...KER-SLAM, I totally eat it."

"Holy...crap. What was that like?"

"To be honest, it was a total blur. What I really remember from it was just the noise of my Arwing tearing to shreds,as I bounced along for what seemed like forever."

"Wow."

"Ha, yeah, _not fun_. Then finally, I came to a very, painful stop."

Fox pointed up to the stitches on his head, "Yeah, forehead, plus flight controls, equals, _not cool._"

Slippy laughed, "Fox, how can you joke about this?"

"Hey, I'm still here aren't I? See that's the thing Slippy, if you can teach yourself to just accept things for what they are, and just be thankful that you can wake to see another day. Things don't seem so bad. I know what happened several days back bothers you, I know it's hard to pull that trigger, and I know how it feels afterwards. You feel guilty, no matter what the circumstances are. Even though you saved my tail, and rid the Lylat system of one more Andross-following nut job, it's not an easy thing to swallow."

"Yeah, I know, I haven't been able to sleep at all. I mean, you have been through _way _more than I have ever been though, like, you lost your mom and dad, and almost, _died, _about a week ago, and I find you in here sleeping away."

"Slippy, Falco told me everything. About how you manned our only Arwing and made sure they got me back to the Great Fox. He said you took on like a dozen fighters by yourself! I think you have been though just as much as me."

"Yeah, I almost didn't do it. I was so scared, but i figured, I would rather die than watch my friends get blown to pieces."

"You saved this entire team Slippy. We would all be dead right now if it weren't for you. Especially me on two occasions." Fox smiled.

"You're my best friend Fox, they only one around here that doesn't think I'm totally annoying all the time. I wasn't about to let some smelly ape take you down. I just, didn't know I would feel so _horrible_ afterwards."

"Yeah, It probably didn't help when you had to move the bodies."

"Don't...remind me. That took a whole day. Peppy and I dragged them all down to the hangar. I threw up so much...so gross."

"Man, I would have helped, but Peppy wouldn't hear it and locked me in here that day."

"Yeah, I remember."

"What did you do with the bodies anyway?"

"We decompressed the hangar, and watched them fly into space from the bridge, along with their ship too."

Fox rolled his eyes with a smile, "I can't believe Peppy let you do that."

"I _wanted_ to blast their ship with the main cannons, but Peppy drew the line there."

"Old timer's gotta end the fun somewhere I suppose."

"Yeah..."

There was a quiet moment.

Fox broke the silence, "Well Slip, our job isn't an easy one. You just gotta be prepared to..to..." Fox put his fist up to his mouth, "One second."

Fox started to cough heavily. He held one arm over this ribs, and placed the other over his mouth as he hacked away feverishly.

"Are you alright Fox?" Slippy asked, worried about his friend.

"Yeah." Fox tried to get his coughing under control, "I'm good." He coughed a few more times before it finally subsided.

"Owww." The vulpine held his broken ribs, slightly slouched over. He coughed so hard his eyes became watery, and now his breathing was very wheezy.

"You want some water or something?"

Fox broke into another coughing fit, "Yeah, that would be awesome Slip, thanks." Fox managed to say over the hacking.

"Here." Fox handed Slippy a water bottle that sat beside his bed.

Slippy took it from his hand and walked over to a near by sink, Fox still coughing away. He took the cap of the water bottle, placed it under the faucet, and pressed and held a small button on the sink labeled, 'Cold.'

The bottle started to fill with H2O, but by the time it was half way full, the faucet started to sputter.

"Uh oh." Slippy released the button as the water reached the top of the bottle.

Curious, Fox asked between his constant coughs, "What's up Slippy?"

"Well, either something is wrong with this, or we are running out of water." Slippy walked back over to Fox and handed him his drink.

Fox took a swig of water. "Thanks." His coughing finally started to calm down for good.

"Yeah, no problem."

"Well Slip, you saved my life _again._ This makes us I think more than even, so, I think I owe you now, " Fox laughed out, with a few stray coughs escaping.

Slippy rolled his eyes.

"So, we are almost out of water?"

"Yeah, most likely, I checked the tanks like, 10 hours ago, we had about 12 percent left. I told you guys we should have stopped for supplies on Katina! We are almost out of pretty much everything!"

"How long till we reach Corneria?" Fox asked.

"Like, twenty three, twenty two hours?"

"Ha, I think we will make it Slippy."

Slippy sighed, "Yeah, guess your right. So, is there more you can tell me about Venom?"

"Uh, yeah sure, now where did I leave off..." Fox pondered, tapping his chin.

"Ahem." Slippy was pointing to his forehead.

"Oh, that's right." Fox felt the stitches on his own forehead. "So yeah, basically, I crashed and... somehow, survived. The Arwing held up pretty good, well, at least the cockpit did...Everything else was torn off and I don't even think we could have salvaged it. Ugh, and it pretty much broke my heart when Falco told me we were down to just one ship. All that, just for me."

"Well, I would rather lose the Arwings than you Fox, seriously."

"Thanks Slip, I just hope we don't need any time soon."

Slippy just sat there, quiet, looking down at the ground.

"You okay?" Fox asked, lowering his head to become eye level with the amphibian sitting beside him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, you can go on with your story." Slippy replied, but Fox could tell something more was eating away at his friend.

"There's something bothering you, spill it Slippy come on, you still thinking about what happened to us? About taking that shot?"

Out of nervousness Slippy's right leg started to bounce, he just had to say it, _now._

"Uh Fox, I...uh...well...The real reason I came in here was too, well I just... UGH. Look, I just, can't handle all this mercenary stuff like you guys can! I can't live with it! Going mission to mission, thinking to my self, okay this is it, this might be the one were I don't make it out! You guys act like you are invincible or something! Like it's some kind of game or something! I can't do that thought! I can't block it out! All I can envision is going down in a, well, _blaze of glory, _as Falco calls it. I don't know what's so, glorious about _dying _but, I just can't handle it! I just don't want-"

"Whoa whoa! Hold on Slippy." Fox sat up more, and shifted his legs over the edge of the bed so he was now facing the frog. "So what are you telling me? You don't want to be on the field during missions? I mean, that's okay with me, and I don't think we will have a job soon anyway so maybe we could work out someth-."

"Fox." Slippy interrupted the vulpine. "Look, you're not getting it."

"No no, I get it Slippy, you just need some time to relax, wind down, and If we get a job you can just help us anyway you can from the Great Fox. You could just strictly be our mechanic for the time being, how does that sound?"

Slippy just sighed and hung his head. This confused Fox to an existent, but he was smarter than that, and started to realize where this was going.

"Slippy?"

Slippy looked up at his long time friend with tears welling up in his eyes.

"F..Fox, I...Please don't be mad, I just... You're gonna be angry at me." Slippy's composure was slowing fading.

"Hey." Fox put his hand on Slippy's shoulder," It's alright buddy, I don't think there's anything you could do to upset me. You're not Falco." Fox tried to comfort him with a reassuring smile.

"So, Just say it Slippy, just lay it out there. I won't be mad, upset, or whatever, it's cool, I promise."

Slippy sniffed, and nodded his head while wiping the tears away, "Okay Fox, if you say so...I want your permission... to..."

"To?" Fox cocked his head to the side.

"To...leave Star Fox."

"WHOA, WHAT?" This actually wasn't what Fox was expecting to hear.

"I want to leave the team." Slippy replied with much shame in his voice.

"But...I ...what?! Why?"

"I told you Fox! I _can't.. handle.. it_."

"Slippy, you will be fine! You will get use to it, we all do! I know it's not easy doing what we do, but..."

"No, it's not easy, it's impossible! I can not get the image out of my head of that guys brains all over the place! I am just not cut out for this!!"

Fox could not believe what he was hearing; his best friend asking to be excused from Star Fox. He was also one of the most valued members because of his brilliant knowledge in engineering that kept their Arwings in the air and the Great Fox in check.

"Slippy, we _need _you on the team! I really don't know what we would do without you!" Fox explained.

"Fox, I'm done...I don't want this life anymore. I want something different, and...and, _safer_."

This was really upsetting Fox, but he wouldn't dare show it.

"I'm really, really sorry Fox. I wish I was stronger than this, but I just can't do this anymore." Slippy once more hung his head low.

For the 1st time in a long time, Fox felt really guilty. Maybe Slippy was right. Maybe he wasn't cut out for the life of a solider.

"Slippy, it's...okay. I'm sorry too, I'm sorry I dragged you into this in the first place. So, I tell you what, when we get to Corneria, we can cut our check the General owes us, you can have your share, and you can go."

"Really? It's okay with you?" Slippy was surprised by this.

"Well sure, I'm not going to force you to stay if you don't want to. I mean, you have a point, we all gotta look out for our selves, and if this isn't what you want, then...I guess you can look somewhere else."

"Oh thanks Fox! Phew, what a relief, I thought you would be pissed for sure!"

"Nah, I was a little surprised but, you do have my permission to be excused from Star Fox."

"Fox, you really are a true friend! Thanks for understanding." Slippy leaped forward and gave Fox a surprising hug.

"Ah...jeez..easy...ribs...ouch..." Fox winced from the painful embrace of his now, ex-teammate.

"Oh!" Slippy back away, "Uh, sorry Fox."

Fox gave a quick laugh, "It's okay Slippy. So you gonna be around at least for the welcome home ceremony? I am pretty sure the General has one planned. Could you at least do that for me before you go?"

Slippy thought about the request for a moment. "Sure Fox, I'll be there."

"Sweet, I couldn't imagine you not being there, I mean, you _earned _it. I'll make sure you get some medals for saving our hides back on Venom."

"Well, I'm sure you will get TONS of medals! You killed Andross! You ended the war! You are a hero!"

"Eh, that all wouldn't really matter right now if you weren't around to keep me alive. I finished the job, but you were the one working over time. So I owe you Slippy, and I guess granting you this request is my way of repaying you."

Slippy smiled, those words meant everything to him, " I guess you could say we are even then huh?"

"Sure thing Slippy, I guess we are. Well go get some sleep, I'm sure we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, the whole city is waiting for our arrival."

Slippy gave a nod and made his way towards the door, but turned towards Fox just before he left, "Fox?"

"Hmm?" Fox was resting his head in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, and could you hit the lights for me?"

"Sure, night Fox."

The room went dark, Slippy's dark figure disappeared out of the room as the door slid shut behind him.

Fox laid down on his back with a disappointing sigh. Star Fox was now one team member short. It wasn't a problem now but what would they do if a new job came up? Guess they would just have to make do for now.

Fox laid still in the dark, still unsure about what to do about this situation.

"Damn."

* * *

"Okay, only about 2 more blocks and we're there, Aaron." Jack instructed his passenger.

"Finally." Aaron watched as the downtown area flew past his window. This area was hit hard from the war. The coyote eyes grew wide as he saw skyscrapers with large gaping holes blown into the sides of them. The streets were littered with destroyed cars, over turned street lights, and rock and concrete debris from the broken buildings littered the ground.

Aaron turned to Jack, "Where were you during the first attack?"

There was a bit of silence before he replied, "Maybe I'll tell you some other time, this place brings back enough memories as it is."

"Okay, I understand."

Aaron looked back to check on his cousin.

"How does he look?" asked the driver.

"I think he calmed down, he looks like he's sleeping."

"Well thank god for that, I thought he was a goner when I first saw him."

"Yeah, I thought I was going to lose him back at the apartment."

Jack began to bring the cab to a lower speed and then turned into a large driveway, "Here we are!"

That driveway belonged to the Downtown Cornerian Hospital. They didn't get far however, because the entire drive way was already jam packed with empty cars.

Jack brought the taxi to a stop and threw it in park, "Alright, lets get him inside."

They both threw open their doors and hopped out onto the still falling rain storm. They then retrieved John from the back seat and carried him by the arms and legs to the entrance of the hospital. Aaron noticed that not only the drive way was full, but the entire parking lot was packed to the brim, this made him a bit more nervous that he already was at the time.

"Almost there Aaron!" Jack reassured.

There were now nearly upon the large, sliding glass doors of the entrance of the hospital. Two large German Shepard Police dogs stood on each side of the entrance. They didn't seem to even acknowledge Jack and Aaron's presence as they passed by through the front door.

"Oh shit." Aaron let out under a whisper.

The hospital waiting room was pandemonium, and packed wall to wall with people crying out to be helped next. They fought there way through the sea of people, trying to make there way to the front desk.

"Please move! My cousin is sick! He needs help now!" Aaron pleaded.

An angry voice responded," Yeah? So does everyone else here! Wait your turn!"

They finally made it to the to the front desk and found a young avian receptionist literally buried in paper work.

"Please, I need to get help for my cousin here, I don't know what's wrong with, how long till we can see a doctor?"

The receptionist roller her eyes up at the panicked coyote, and then handed him a small piece of paper that said "98" on it.

"What's this?" Aaron asked, confused.

The young avian looked up from here papers, " When we call your number, you can fill out the forms required to see a doctor."

"WHAT?! But...That could take all day! He needs help now!"

"Sorry, all of our beds are full, we just can't be taking people as they come, you are going to have to wait." She routinely responded, this probably wasn't the first time she told someone this information.

Defeated, Jack and Aaron carried John over to an empty spot on the floor against one of the waiting room walls; all the seating was taken. They propped him up in a sitting position upon the floor with his back against the wall, and Aaron gave his cousin a quick look over. John was still breathing, but aside from that he was pretty lifeless.

"John, John can you hear me?" Aaron said, keeled down in front of his cousin.

He took his hand and placed it under Johns chin and tilted his head back, "John! John please..."

It was once more becoming just way to much to handle for Aaron again, so much has happened today, and he just felt like breaking down and crying. He was holding himself together pretty well, but he was starting to pass his breaking point once more.

"God damn this city." Aaron said to himself, holding back the tears of frustration.

He felt a hand placed on his shoulder, he almost forgot Jack was still with him, "Hey..Aaron, it's going to be alright, John seems to be stable, as long as he's still breathing, there's hope. Maybe he is just really worn out from earlier. Come on, it's gonna be alright."

Aaron stood up and faced his new friend, and put out his hand, "Thanks for everything Jack, you don't know how much this means to me, you helping and all, I was almost convinced everyone in this city had totally lost it."

The rat shook Aaron's hand, "Think nothing of it, it's what I do. I get people to where they need to be." Jack smiled.

"Alright Jack, you don't have to stay you can leave if you want. I think I can handle it from here."

Jacked nodded, looking down at Aaron's cousin who sat slouched over, "Alright Aaron, I guess I will see you around then, you take care of John here, okay?"

"Already am.." Aaron sighed out.

"Hey, here's my card." Jack handed him a small business card. "You ever need anything, call me up."

"Okay, thanks, thanks a lot." Aaron was still fighting off the tears,

"Heeey, it's going to be alright buddy, come on."

Jack gave the distraught coyote a comforting hug, patting him on the back. Aaron was a little caught off guard, but then returned the favor, it actually helped him feel better.

"Alright Aaron, take care, I'll see you soon."

"See ya Jack, thanks again."

"Hey, no problem, you take care."

Jack disappeared into the crowd, making his way to the front door. Aaron was really pained to see him go, that rat was his only friend in this entire city, if not the entire planet. He didn't want to lose his support, but for some reason, he also didn't feel it was right to make him stay in such a place like this.

Aaron sat down by his dormant cousin, and then took a good look around the room. There were so many sick people waiting to see a doctor. He saw others that seemed to be in his exact situation, trying to get help for others who seemed to be deathly ill. He couldn't really find another however that looked like they had the same symptoms that John did.

The room was so loud, crying, desperate shouts for help, coughing, the sounds of vomiting...it was such a commotion.

Aaron remembered the news paper article John had him read. "I guess all that bullshit is true, and now I'm stuck in the middle of it." He thought to him self. "Now I'm probably gonna get sick."

He felt something fall against his left shoulder, it surprised him and he almost jumped a little. It was his cousin, who was now leaning against him with his head on his shoulder.

"Aaron..." A weak voice said.

Aaron shifted his head slightly and saw a pair of blood red eyes, half way open, peering up at him.

"John? Oh, thank god, are you okay?" Aaron couldn't believe it, this finally brought some hope to this crazy day.

John let out a few wheezing coughs, "No."

"Hang in there, you're going to be fine."

"You...you didn't have to do this." John coughed a few more times,"You didn't have to bring me here."

"I didn't have to watch you die either." Aaron replied.

John's eyes slid shut, but his heart kept a steady pace, he was asleep once more.

John slid off Aaron's shoulder and fell into his lap. Aaron sighed, and wrapped his arms around him and held John's back close to his chest, trying to comfort him although he was asleep. It's made Aaron feel better at least.

"_Seems like quite a burden has been placed upon your shoulders, kid." _

The words of the shop keeper from earlier today rang through Aaron's mind.

"You have no idea," He thought to him self.

Aaron looked at the small piece of paper to remind him of his place in line to see a doctor, "98." It read.

"This day, could not get any worse." Aaron moaned.

"NUMBER 58. WE WILL NOW ASSIST NUMBER 58!"

Aaron let his head fall against the wall behind him, "Shit."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Update time! Sorry this one took awhile.**_

**_Enjoy! Please Read & Review!_**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Far From Over**

A pair of anguished eyes slowly slid open. Everything in site was blurry and unfamiliar, but it was so bright. The steady beep of a heart monitor could be heard, as well as the faint hum of the florescent lights above.

Soon, things became clear. The white sheets of a hospital bed, an IV rack, an old broken down TV, and a dirty rain covered window were some of the few things to be seen.

"Finally! Welcome back, John."

John, who was now laying in a hospital bed, looked to his right to see his cousin sitting in an old beat-up chair beside his bed.

John gave out a quick throat-clearing cough, as his eyes squinted from the bright ceiling lights above.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, weakly.

Aaron, who was sitting back in his chair, leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, "6...long...hours."

John turned away from Aaron, rested his head on his pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Aaron let out a sigh, "It's, alright. I was asleep for most of the time anyway."

A moment of awkward silence passed.

John broke the silence, "So...what did they tell you?"

"The doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Well, from what they could tell, you may have mixed the wrong type of medication and had a reaction. They took your blood pressure, did some blood work, took some x-rays, and you checked out. They really couldn't find anything."

"Did you tell them what happened?"

Aaron stood from his seat, walked over to the one window in the room, and peered out at the rain soaked wasteland of a city, "Yeah, the whole damn adventure."

"And?"

"And, they just, didn't seem to really care. They just carted you all over the place, rushing through test after test, and then dropped you off here and said all you need is some rest and you'll be fine."

"Well...that's good news."

Aaron went silent.

John was puzzled by his cousins lack of agreement.

He shifted his head toward Aaron. "Hey!"

Aaron looked over his shoulder back at his cousin,"What?"

"You know, when someone says, _that's good news,_ you usually reply with something like, _yeah, sure is_."

Aaron rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry John, it's just... after what happed, I have a hard time believing you just had a _bad reaction_ to some medicine. I mean... do you really remember anything that happened?"

"Not really...no. Just bits and pieces."

"John, you were practically knocking at death's door! I saw it in your eyes! I really thought you were going to die! I just don't get it, all the doctor told me was you needed rest, and you would be fine. I told him everything that happened! The seizures, throwing up blood, everything. Then he-" Aaron made quotation marks wih his fingers. "-_runs_ a few tests, and says you're fine; they didn't find anything. Such bullshit."

"Yeah, I'm really infuriated as well. I think we should file a complaint." John replied with no emotion.

"Ugh, you are impossible! Don't you care at all?"

"No...not really."

Aaron shook his head in frustration and continued to look outside.

The two went silent. The sound of rain was to be heard against the window.

"What floor are we on?" John casually asked.

Aaron shot a confused look over to his cousin, "Why?"

"It's a secret."

"Whatever. We're on the seventh floor."

"Oh good, I like it when my room has a view."

Aaron cracked a smile, "You are such a deadpan."

"Thanks. How is it by the way?"

"What?"

"The _view,_ stupid."

The fact the hospital was surrounded by much taller commercial office buildings, all he could see were the gray, war-torn, monoliths that remained in the downtown area.

"Beautiful."

Aaron then walked back over to the chair beside John's bed, and sat down with huff, hanging his head low.

Then he looked up at John, how was now staring up at the ceiling again, twiddling his thumbs.

"How you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." John replied.

"Well, that's good."

John peered over at Aaron, "How 'bout you?"

"I'm good."

"Good."

Silence.

"Hey Aaron."

"What's up?" Aaron sat back in his chair, causing it to squeak loudly.

A smile appeared on John's face. "Do you remember, when we were little? When my family and I would come to visits you and your family on Katina?" He asked, now sitting up in his bed.

"Yeah, yeah I do." Aaron was surprised by the question, this was the first time he got any real emotion out of John.

John continued, "Those...those were the best days of my life, Aaron. I remember your house, it was so awesome. You had this big ol' pool, some kick-ass play ground with swings and everything. Man, you had it all! I remember your dad would play baseball with us and everything, it was so cool."

John's eyes were lit up with theses childhood memories and Aaron was really caught off guard with his sudden topic at hand.

"Yeah, I remember. I loved it when you guys came to Katina." said Aaron.

"Oh! You remember that one time you fell outta that tree into your pool?..."

John went on and on, talking about the "good times" he remembered with his cousin. Aaron had no idea where this came from, or why John brought it up, but he enjoyed every moment of the conversation. After all the insanity he went through with John: finding his apartment, his first very unfriendly encounter with him, and then suddenly being forced to watch him barely hang on to life, was pushed aside by this moment of blissful remembrance. This is how he envisioned it would be the moment he met John here on Corneria. That's not how it turned out at all, however, but it didn't really matter anymore at the moment. They talked and laughed for about an hour, reminiscing about the good times. Then Aaron had an idea, maybe he could use this to his advantage...

"...Oh oh! Yeah, and then I caught the ball, tripped, and fell face first in the mud." Aaron laughed out.

John was laughing hysterically, "Yes yes! I totally remember that! Oh man, that was so funny."

The two just sat there trying to contain their laughter. Eventually they both quieted down, seeming to finally run out of things to talk about.

This was Aaron's chance.

"You know John, thing's are still pretty good on Katina. A lot of the war missed the planet, we don't know why or how, but I guess we were just lucky... Look, John, I really want you to come home with me, my family totally welcomes you there. Hey, when I looked out that window, I couldn't see anything worth sticking around here for. This planet is going to take a lot of time to get back on it's feet. I know, this is your home, where you grew up, but I know you will be happier if you come with me, back to Katina. I mean, I traveled a few million miles to get here, doesn't that count for something?"

John went silent and bit his lower lip.

"Come on John, all those good times we just talked about, we could have more of them! I mean, you could live with my family for the time being, and uh, my dad knows some people and could hook you up with a job, things will be great."

John continued to sit there, silent, but now with a look of deep thought upon his face.

"John, please. I'm just not going to leave you here. So what do you think?"

He let out a deep breath, and looked Aaron dead in the eye, "Alright, you win."

Aaron's eye's grew wide with surprise, "What? Really?"

John just simply nodded in agreement.

Aaron was shocked, he didn't expect that at all, it almost seemed to easy. He didn't care through, he got what he came for: a simple "Yes."

John spoke up. "I guess, after all you went through with me today, I can't really say no. I mean, you really proved you came here for me. You were really selfless about the whole _ordeal._"

"Well, like I said before, you're family, and I'd do anything for my family."

John looked away for a moment, and then turned back to his cousin, "Hey, uh... thanks, for everything...Aaron."

"Yeah, no problem. Gotta look out for each other."

Aaron leaned to one side, resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair, "So, you're sure? You're going to come with me?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure, why would I change my mind?"

"No no, I just... Never mind."

Aaron asked, "Is there anything you need at your apartment? Before we leave?"

John thought for a moment, scratching his chin, "No, not a damn thing."

"Well, as soon as they check you out of here, we can go back to my hotel, I can grab my things, and we can head to the spaceport."

"Okay...oh wait!" John smacked his forehead, "Aaron, I _do_ need to go back to the apartment, I can't believe I forgot, I'm so stupid."

"Alright, take it easy, what is it you need?" Aaron asked leaning forward with curiosity.

"My pills...I have to keep talking them, I can't just stop, especially if we are going on a trip that might take a couple of days."

John was starting to show he was feeling a little uneasy about something and Aaron could see it.

"It's okay John, take it easy. We can go get them, no problem. Do you have enough to get you through the trip?"

"Yeah, I should. Dammit, I'm sorry, I totally forgot. I'm such an idiot." John shook his head, and pinched his temple with his right hand.

"No no, it's cool, don't worry about it."

"How the hell are we getting all the way back to the west side anyway? We are miles from it!"

Aaron dug through his pockets, and pulled out a card. It was the very same business card that the cab driver, Jack, gave to him before they parted ways.

"I got it covered."

Suddenly there was a knock on the closed door of the small room.

Aaron stood up, "Yes? Come in."

The door slowly swung open and in stepped a female chipmunk nurse holding a hospital chart.

She looked down at the document in hand, "Um, John McStacey?"

John raised his hand, "Here."

The nurse walked over to his bed side, "How are you feeling John?"

"Like a hundred bucks."

The nurse laughed. "I think you mean, a _million_ bucks. I think that's how it goes."

"I'm just being honest." John replied in his usually deadpan manner.

"Uh..okay. Well, you are checked out and can leave at any time now."

"So he's okay, there's nothing you guys found with any of the tests you did or anything?" Aaron asked.

The nurse looked down at the chart, and flipped through a few pages, "Ummm, nope, everything checked out. There is a note here that the doctor looked through his records, and took note of the medications he is being issued. He made sure there weren't any medications that would conflict with one another and wrote up a new prescription that has everything John is taking at the moment. There's full instructions on what to take, when to take it, so whatever reaction John had, won't happen again. You can fill the prescription on the ground floor. Any other questions? "

"Um, no, none I can think of." Aaron replied.

"Alright then, looks like you're free to go John!" The nurse exclaimed with a bit to much enthusiasm.

She pulled the IV out of Johns arms and wrapped where the needles were inserted with a piece of medical tape with a cotton ball underneath. Also, she pulled the heart monitor sensors from his chest and handed John the new prescription paper.

"So before I go John, is there anything you need?"

"Uh maybe some aspirin? My head is killing me."

"Sure, I'll be right back with that." The nurse promptly left the room to retrieve what John requested.

John looked up at Aaron still standing beside him, "Talk about service with a smile, should we tip her?"

Aaron rolled his eyes, cracked a smile, and shook his head, "What is wrong with you?"

"So many things Aaron."

A few moments later the nurse reentered the room with a small cup of water and another small plastic cup with to small pills in it.

"Here you go John," she said. "This should help with your headache."

She handed John the medicine and water.

"Thanks...You've all been...a tremendous help, really." John blankly stated.

"Uh, well, I'm glad we could help. Okay, you two take care."

The nurse then left the room faster than either coyote could say "Good by."

John handed Aaron his new prescription slip, "Here hold on to this for me, looks like we don't have to bother going back to my place anymore."

Aaron looked over the small piece of paper. He could barely read what the doctor scribbled on it, but he could make out about four or five different medications that were put down.

"We need to get you off this shit when we get to Katina, I bet you don't really need to take any of this stuff."

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Well, take the aspirin already so we can get the hell out of here."

"Jeez, take it easy Aaron, I think it's kinda nice here. I mean, where else can you watch hundreds of people get fed truck loads of controlled poison?"

John tossed the pills in his mouth and gulped them down without any water.

"Whoa, don't you wanna take those with anything? She brought you the water. It's not just to hold on to."

"Nah, I'm good. You thirsty?" John held up the small cup towards his cousin.

"Yeah sure, I guess if you're not gonna." He took the cup from John's hand.

He held the cup up to his snout and went to take a drink.

"AARON!." John reached over and smacked the cup right out of his hands. Water went everywhere as the cup flew through the air and then bounced of the wall nearby.

Aaron's eyes were wide with shock, "What the _HELL_ did you do that for?!"

"Did you forget _EVERYTHING?_" John snapped back.

Aaron's mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He started to shake his head, "No no no, please John do not start with this again."

John scowled, and threw the sheet's off and hopped out of the bed, "I can't believe you. I thought I could count on you Aaron."

John grabbed his clothes off a nearby chair, walked over to the room's small bathroom to change out of his hospital gown, and slammed the door.

"God dammit, please don't go crazy on me again." Aaron said to himself under his breath.

The door flew back open after a minute or two with John storming back out, now dressed in his normal clothes again. He walked up to his cousin with his finger pointed in his face.

"I thought you believed me! Now you're acting like it all never happened. Like...like, I never even brought it up at all."

"John, don't do this! You said that you would come home with me!" Aaron pleaded.

"What? When? I told you we have to do something about it! Now you're just gonna jump ship? Don't you care?"

Aaron took a step back. John was pretty much in his face with a look of rage upon his.

"Look, I care...about _you.."_

"_WRONG ANSWER._"

John turned and made off towards the exit.

"Hey! You said you would come back to Katina!"

"No I didn't! _When,_ did I do that?!"

"Like, 10 minutes ago!"

"Nope! Don't remember!" He stepped out into the hallway and slammed the door behind him.

Aaron ran over to the door, threw it open, and stepped out into the hall. It was jam-packed with doctors and nurses scrambling all over.

Aaron looked left and right, peering over the heads of the crowded hallway, looking for John. He saw him pushing through the crowd, to his right. Aaron took chase.

"John! John! Hold up!" He called out.

Aaron made his way through the scattered hospital workers trying to get to his cousin who was doing the same. Finally he caught up with him when the hall ended at the elevator.

John stood in front of the call button, pushing it over and over,"Come on!"

Aaron caught up, "John! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

The frustrated coyote didn't respond, he just kept pushing away at the button; totally ignoring Aaron.

The elevator door finally slid open, "God, finally!" John yelled out.

He stepped into the elevator along with Aaron, still trying to make amends with his cousin.

The doors slid shut, and the lift made it's way to the ground floor.

"John come on, stop ignoring me! You need _help,_ John! I want to get you back to Katina, so I can _get_ you some damn help! I mean, one moment you act like you're my best friend, and now you won't even talk to me! I mean come on..."

"AARON!" With that out burst Aaron went silent. "You keep telling me you would do anything for you family, right?"

"Yeah, because it's true. I would do anything to help." He replied.

"Well then here's your chance. You wanna do something for me?"

"Yes! Anything, I want to help you John, Please."

The elevator came to a stop on the ground floor and the door's slid open.

He turned his head towards Aaron and looked him square in the eyes, "Go home."

John stepped out of the elevator, back into the over crowded ground floor, with his cousin who was at a loss for words close behind.

He grabbed John's shoulder, trying to get him to stop for a moment.

John jerked from his grasp. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

Aaron stepped back, he just didn't know how to get him under control long enough just so he would listen to what he had to say.

John stormed of through the crowd of doctors, nurses, and the many people who were crying out for help.

"John!! Hey!! LISTEN TO ME!!" The frustrated coyote howled out, while shoving his way through the sea of people.

"JUST SHUT...UP!!" John stopped dead in his tracks, and faced Aaron with a look of rage in his eyes.

"How 'bout _YOU,_ listen to _ME!_" This sudden outburst caused the drawing of attention of many of the others who were in the waiting room at the moment.

"You know Aaron, you just don't get it. You come down here, thinking you know everything. You think you can just magically "help me" and everything is just going to be just fine. Well what If I don't _want_ your help? What if I think I'm doing just fine? You think you can undo all the damage? You think you can just erase what I have been through?" John was practically yelling right in his cousins face.

He continued,"You can't just take me from this place. You can just remove me from this planet now. Because I _know_ I have a purpose here. I know that I survived the attack that was brought upon this city, for a reason. It wasn't luck, it wasn't because I was in the right place at the right time. It was because I was CHOSEN! I will show these people the lies that are hidden from plain sight, day in and day out!!"

The entire ground floor was nearly dead silent now. Thousands of wide eyes watched as the insane coyote spouted his insane prophecy.

John started looking around, making and breaking eye contact with the many, some frightened, onlookers.

"John please, just take it easy..." Aaron calmly urged.

"No! Fuck you, Aaron!" John snarled .

John grabbed a near by chair and stood on top of it, "Can't you see it?!" He called out to the people, "Don't you see it coming? This city is going to burn to the ground! You're all a bunch of blindfolded sheep, being sent to the slaughter! We are all being poisoned to death! Slowly, everyday, you are brought closer to the grave unknowingly! Am I the only one that sees this? Am I the only one that feels this way? Are you all so blind to this for coming apocalypse?"

Over at the front desk a receptionist fumbled with a radio, "Can I get some security on the ground floor in the waiting area? I got some lunatic ranting about the end of the world or something! The last thing we need is for everyone to breakout into a panic. What? No, I thought we had two security officers out front but I have no idea where they went! Just get someone down here now!!"

John seemed to be drawing the attention of everyone who was in the waiting room area, although he appeared insane, they still listened without question.

"We all need to rise up! We need to let this broken government know that we will not go quietly! We can't just let them take over like this. This..._war_, that has passed, was only the beginning, it was only a cover for what is really to come. The war left most of us with nothing. We crawl on our hands and knees just to get some help, just to get enough for our families to survive, and what we get is barely enough! If we don't do something now, then this city, this... planet, is forfeit."

There seemed to be a mixed reaction with the whole ordeal. Some people were shocked and frightened which pushed them to leave the hospital. Others seemed to be on their feet with a look of hope upon their faces, embracing everything John had to say.

John was still ranting on, "Do not trust anyone! Don't trust the police, don't trust the government, don't trust the military, and DO NOT trust these, _higher powers._ I have watched them take away almost every option that was once given to the people, and when you leave people without options, it only leaves us but one option left...For it is the END, of history. It's caged...and it's frozen still. And it's gotten to the point where there is no other pill to take, so we are all forced, to swallow the one, that makes us ill." The crazed coyote screamed out, with his fists clenched, his eyes wide and bloodshot with every ounce of rage and frustration he had left in him.

Aaron just stood there, shocked. Maybe his cousin was too far gone, and maybe this journey to Corneria was nothing but a huge waste of time after all.

"So let's start a revolution! Who's with me? Who wants to help me drag this city out of the depths of blackness."

The room was dead quiet, John got no response. This rally seemed futile.

"Sir!" A gruff voice called out.

John snapped his head to his left, and saw two security guards. Two German Shepards dressed in uniform both with night sticks in hand.

"Sir, we don't want this to get out of hand, so could you please calm yourself and step down from there? Just for the safety of yourself and everyone else, It would be best if you were to leave."

John bared his teeth, and let out a growl. He scowled at the two canines who immediately picked up on his hostility.

Aaron stepped in, reaching up and grabbing John by his arm trying to pull him from the seat he stood upon. "John please, just calm down! Just take it easy! Let's just go."

John continued to stare down the two security guards. They began to return the hostility, baring their teeth, and widening their stance; preparing for the worst.

It almost seemed like everyone was holding there breath waiting for either the crazed coyote to attack the two Shepards, or vice-versa.

Aaron pleaded with his cousin," John, let's GO."

John looked down at his cousin, and back up at the two guards. All of a sudden something seemed to click inside John's head. His expression of anger soon faded from his face. His heavy breathing subsided and his heart that was once racing slowed to a more steady pace.

John looked around the room. He saw hundreds of timid faces staring right at him.

"Just...remember, what I said." John calmly stated. "Because within a short time, we will all be living in a world ruled by madness."

Then there was silence.

John stepped from his makeshift perch. The two canines backed down as well, seeing the situation was beginning to deflate.

John hung his head in the dead silence of the room. He felt defeated, no one seemed to believe a word he said, or was brave enough to stand behind him. He slowly looked up and over at his cousin, who was staring at him with sympathetic eyes. Aaron couldn't help but feel sorry for John. He was obviously so deeply disturbed. He had no idea that he was so damaged by what he had been through. Maybe because of the fact that John couldn't find a reason why he survived the attack on Corneria, he decided to fabricate one for himself.

"John, I..."

Aaron was cut off by the sounds of a slow, steady applause from a single set of heavy hands.

Almost everyone turned to see who it was that felt compelled to applaud John's insane ramble.

At the front entrance of the hospital stood 3 apes, all dressed in black trench coats, black military cargo pants, and black boots.

They stood side to side. The apes on the left and right were massive creatures. Standing nearly at 7 feet tall, these hulking apes towered over everyone. They had scars on their faces, perhaps from fighting in a war? Between those two, stood a shorter, more slender ape. He was the one that was clapping for John's speech.

The ape spoke in a very proper manner, "Bravo, _bravo._ You know, I didn't think there were _any_ creatures left on this planet that were so.._.insightful_. Clearly you understand the situation this planet is in is a dire one indeed."

Shocked by this John's passion for his cause seemed to be reignited, "So you agree with what I have been trying to tell everyone?" The timid coyote asked the mysterious ape.

"Why yes, I believe nearly everything you have... _informed_ this ignorant audience with all have a severely valid point, yes. However, as amusing as that was, we have a more, important matter to attend to. We come with urgent news and must speak with the authorities who reside within this hospital at the time being."

The two German Shepard officers that were earlier trying to subdue John, cautiously approached the three apes.

"If you're looking for the authorities on site, that would be us. I'm Officer Rawlins, and this here is Officer Reynolds."

The middle ape spoke, "Officers? Now, I just want to be clear. You _are_ peace officers correct? _Official_ authority? This is an important matter, and we need not waste time talking to you if you are just security guards, no offense to you of course."

The two canines laughed, "No offense taken, as you can see.." The one officer placed his hand on his holstered blaster, "They don't issue firearms to security guards. Corneria P.D. at your service. What's the news? New orders? Are you guys from the army outpost?" Officer Rawlins asked.

"Orders? Not quite." The middle ape raised his left arm and pointed at Officer Reynolds who was standing side by side with his partner. "Him."

With that simple command, the two brutes each pulled a weapon that was holstered on the inside of their coats. They both took aim at officer Reynolds.

"OH SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Reynolds screamed, frozen with fear.

They opened fire. From the end of their weapons came a thunderous boom, followed by a massive, bright muzzle flash.

"AAHHHH!!" The officer was stuck in the chest with both shots. The force of the blast sent his body flipping backwards like a rag doll as blood sprayed everywhere. He landed on his head with a sickening crack. His lifeless body now laid dormant upon the floor, with a pool of blood forming beneath him.

In unison the two apes pulled back what to appeared to be some kind of pump on their weapons. It made a mechanical, click-clack, sound and expelled what seemed to be some kind of shell. It was quite obvious they did not use conventional weaponry.

The crowd was paralyzed with fear and disbelief; did this actually happen? A random scream of terror was let out.

"Your stupidity is most amusing." The lead ape scoffed.

The remaining officer's mouth hung open in shock, his eyes were wide, and he was scared to death. He didn't know what to do, if he drew his weapon they probably wouldn't have a second thought about killing him. He looked over at this partner, who was now sprawled out on the floor; lifeless.

"Now as for you, Officer Rawlins." He stated, pointing at the Shepard.

The two brutes lifted their weapons once more, taking aim at the officer.

"Do you value your life, Officer Rawlins?" The shorter ape asked.

Rawlins bared his teeth, "I value the life of others. I became a cop to protect and serve my people. It isn't about me."

"I must say, that is very noble of you, Officer Rawlins. You must really enjoy it however, when some crazed citizen is ranting and raving about how we shouldn't trust the police. We are entitled to our opinions though, whatever they may be."

"Why are you doing this?" Rawlins asked as his mind raced; trying to think of ways to handle this situation.

"All in good time, friend." He looked to his right hand brute and gave him a quick nod.

The larger ape gave a nod in return and approached Rawlins with the butt of his firearm now aimed at him. With a lightning quick swipe he struck the Shepard in the gut with his weapon.

He let out a wail of pain as he fell to his knees. He was now waiting for the final blow as his life flashed before his eyes. The fatal strike never came. He held his stomach that was now writhing in pain. The broken officer looked up at the sinister ape who now had a sickening smile in his face.

"Now, would you _kindly_ do us but one simple favor, Officer Rawlins? You said you live to serve your people, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Rawlins just scowled at him.

"Alright, since I can tell I have your full attention, I would like for you to take hold of your radio, and call for back up."

Rawlins was stunned by this request. Backup? He had no idea what their intentions could possibly be, but given the fact his partner was now dead on the floor behind him, they couldn't be good.

"Do it now, or there will be a repeat of what happened to your fellow officer, there are plenty of bodies to go around."

The two brutes lifted their weapons at terrified crowed. Worried cries of fear were released in to the air.

"Alright!! Okay, I'll do it."

"Very good! And don't skimp, this is a emergency on a most alarming level."

The most unsettling thing about the whole situation was this one ape was so calm about everything. He didn't once raise his voice or act unbalanced in any way.

Officer Rawlins took his radio from his belt and held it up to his snout. He felt the end of the barrel of a weapon against the back of his neck. This made his fur stand on end.

He made the call, "Dispatch, this is Officer Rawlins, I'm at Corneria Downtown Medical Center. I have an officer down. Three armed suspects are holding the hospital hostage, I repeat. They are armed and extremely dangerous, I need every unit you got, NOW!"

"10-4 Officer Rawlins, we have multiple units on their way as well as a SWAT team. ETA 10 minutes. What is your status Officer Rawlins?"

Suddenly the radio was grabbed from Rawlins hands by the ape that forced him to make the call.

"You have done well Officer Rawlins!" He gave a eerie smile and turned his back on the canine as he stood.

"I don't understand! Why the hell would you want me to call back up?"

"You don't _need_ to understand, Officer Rawlins. Besides, the details don't matter to a _statistic_ like you."

Rawlins' heart stopped.

Once more the radio lit up, "Officer Rawlins, please respond, what is your current status?"

The vile ape took a few steps away from Rawlins, who was still down on his knees, with a gun to his head.

"Officer Rawlins! What is your current status?! Please respond!"

The dark primate held the radio up to his mouth. "K.I.A."

Rawlins hung his head, as a tear slid from his eye. His breath stuttered with fear, "No..."

Another thunderous blast broke the deafening silence.

The room let out a terrified scream as Officer Rawlins lifeless body hit the floor. The ape nearly blew his head clean off.

The shorter ape turned towards his comrades, and tossed the radio from his hand. It bounced and slid across the floor coming to a stop next to the newest corps in the room.

"You served your people well, Officer.." He pulled a pistol sized weapon from his coat, and shot the radio to pieces with multiple blasts.

His weapon was like the others, not energy based. Each shot was deafening, and was followed the the light sound of small copper shells bouncing of the hard concrete floor.

"Alright, you two. You're done here, I can handle the rest. Regroup with the others."

"Yes sir." The larger brutes responded.

They holstered their weapons and made their way out the front door of the hospital without hesitation.

Now only he remained. This lone ape, with a gun in hand, had complete control of the entire crowd.

Stood dead center in the room. Everyone was as far from him as they could be, leaving a large hole in the middle of the once completely packed room.

He looked around, with that same sick smile on his face. Thousands of frightened eyes were staring right at him. He closed his eyes and let in the sounds of fear wash over him. He could make out faint cries, of women and children. Others praying to their higher power for courage and hope. Fathers, trying to reassure their loved ones they would be okay.

Not one would dare make a move. Not a single person wanted to end up like the two police officers; dead.

Then the ape spoke, "Fear, is a powerful weapon."

He drew his weapon and pointed towards a random part of the crowd. They let out a yelp of terror, and cowered, some trying to get out of the way, some just shielding their faces form their potential demise.

He lowered his weapon, and the crowd let out a dreadful sigh.

"There's hundreds, if not thousands of you, and I stand alone. Still, you do nothing to stop me."

He paced around the room, gesturing his weapon at anyone, causing them to recoil with apprehension.

"My name, is Magnus Veridan, and I will be your host for this evening's events. I have an ever watchful eye on this building, so I would advise that no one tries to be a hero, or a _coward,_ and try to vacate the premises without further instruction."

He continued, "I assume I would be a bad host if I didn't at least entertain my guests. So everyone gather around, as I enlighten your weak-minded skulls."

The ape cleared his throat, "One week ago, our leader, our great _Emperor_, was slain by your murderous Star Fox. It has been one week since the entire Andross war machine has gone silent, many claiming defeat, many of those _cowards_ fleeing into the depths of space. And it has been one week since this system could finally see peace."

He looked around the room once more, and then continued, only this time with more force in his voice, "HOWEVER! For it has only taken ONE week, for the Andross militia to band together once more. It has only take one week for us to seek out every weak point that this broken down society has to offer. Oh, what a week it has been. I hope everyone has enjoyed this temporary, _ceasefire_, because today, but only _one_ week from the death of Emperor Andross, begins a new chapter for the Lylat system. This time however, all bets are off. We don't fight for honor, as our leader is dead. We fight now only for madness. It is time for my race to take back this entire system, starting with this very planet!"

His voice grew louder and louder as he spoke, "It is time for the primate race to rise once again, to fulfill Andross's grand vision of taking back the Lylat system like our ancestors did thousands of years ago! For today...!"

Magnus paused, looking at the cowered faces before him. "...is a Red-Letter day. Today this planet will suffer the largest loss of life it has ever seen. It will be the greatest event in history for my race."

The insane ape walked right up to John. "I remember when I arrived not to long ago, you spoke of change. You and I, we are one in the same. We both have the same vision."

John found the courage to speak, "You... you speak of _genocide._ You are...you are insane. I am nothing like you!" He stammered out, his voice trembling with fear."

"Hmm, perhaps not, coyote." He held his gun towards John's head.

John yelped in fear and cowered to the ground shielding his face. Aaron was paralyzed; he wanted to stand up for his cousin, but that might prove fatal, for the both of them.

Magnus lowered his weapon, "You are all the same, weak. You are correct then coyote, we are nothing alike."

The sounds of sirens slowly faded into earshot.

Magnus smiled, "Ah, the sounds of a new era."

He turned from John, and made his way towards the entrances of the hospital. He stopped at the foot of the door, causing them to slide open automatically. Outside the rain was still falling as the haunting symphony of sirens grew ever closer.

He pushed a button on the side of his fire arm, causing a slender cartridge to slip out of the handle. As is fell to the ground he pulled another from his coat and slammed it into the bottom of the gun. The sounds of gun mechanics rang out as the cartridge locked into place.

"This day will be a bloody one indeed."

He faced the crowd, " Unless your military surrenders to us, and also delivers a certain, _prize_, that we have requested, this hospital will be wiped clean from it's foundation. Mark my words, there will be no survivors. The clock is ticking."

He held two fingers against his right ear, against what looked like an communicator piece, "Arm the explosives."

He lowered his hand and spoke to the crowd for the final time, "In 5 hours, you will all know death. Let's hope your government cares about it's people more than it has been showing."

Magnus stepped outside, into the pouring rain. The crowd broke into a crazed panic.

The ape, looked into the bleak cloud covered sky, pistol in hand.

Suddenly from every angle, police vehicles of all kinds began rolling up to the hospital. Some plowed through plant hedges, others through parked cars. Almost every unit available arrived on the scene. They got as close as they could given the fact the front driveway was jam packed with cars anyway. Most of the police units were out in the street parallel with the front of the hospital, about eighty feet way.

The sound's of sirens filled the dead air. They had finished making their perimeter.

Then dozens of doors swung open as officers of many kinds poured out of their vehicles. Most took cover behind the doors of their vehicles. Others moved closer positioned themselves on the side walk behind the elevated planter that ran up and down the street, separating the hospital property from the rest of the city.

Magnus watched as they routinely took hold of the situation, just as they were trained to.

Within a flash all the officers finalized their positions and drew their weapons. Almost almost a hundred standard issued police blasters were aimed right at the ape.

The sirens died out.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON AND GET ON THE GROUND NOW!" A voice boomed through a mega phone.

A police jet turbine helicopter now joined the cause, shining it's blinding spot light right on Magnus.

The ape dropped his weapon, and put his hands up.

"Okay! He's giving up! Get ready to move!" One of the higher ranked officers yelled out.

Drenched in the rain, Magnus looked up at the helicopter that was hovering above and then back down at the countless police forces that had their weapons drawn, ready to open fire at any given moment.

He smiled, "So it begins."

* * *

**_Yes yes, I know, where is Star Fox?! Don't worry, the next chapter will be a Star Fox overload. Also, If you enjoyed my action packed 3rd chapter, the next installments will not disappoint. See you next time! Thanks for reading.  
_**


	7. Chapter 7, Part 1

**Hey everyone! Time for yet another overdue update. Chapter 7 is going to be a 2 part series because I have written a _ton, _and still wanted to keep it as one chapter/event_. _I will be updating chapter 7 in one week.  
**

**I would like to thank Snake Of The Rose and French-Charlotte for their continued support and keeping me motivated to write! **

**Keep it real,**

** -Silenced Fox-  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Hero of War**

**Part One**

-The Great Fox, 1 Hour from Corneria-

"Entering Corneria atmosphere in one hour," A robotic voice rang over the intercom of the Great Fox.

A lone vulpine, who not long ago woke from a heavy slumber, sat upon his bed, this time in his own room. He peered into the depths of space as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Almost home." Fox thought to himself.

Peppy finally gave Fox the okay to finally leave the medical ward and get some sleep in his own room. He didn't get very much of it, but the comfort of his room was welcoming. It was getting old being in the infirmary for a week.

Fox wasn't quite a hundred percent when it came to health. His breathing was still cut short on occasion, and his rib cage was still severely sore which prevented him from moving about with ease. His wound on his forehead was healing up nicely, however. There was quite a scar from the blow, but his fur would cover it in time.

"Time to get ready Fox, you have a big day ahead of you," The young McCloud said aloud.

Wearing nothing but his boxers and a white tank-top that he slept in, Fox stood from his bed, and walked over to his closet. He opened it up, revealing multiple Star Fox uniforms. He pulled from the closet and then slid the door shut. Fox then changed into his fresh uniform and stood before a mirror to make sure he looked presentable. He straightened his jacked, tied his red bandana around his neck, and tried to brush out the wrinkles on his pants.

Fox stared himself right in the eyes, took in a deep breath, and let it out. For a moment, it felt like he was staring right at his father. He looked almost exactly like James. Now with his scars from battle, both mentally and physically, his transformation into the battle hardened vulpine like his father was, seemed to be complete.

Fox was a hero of war, but only he and his closest friends knew why he really risked everything.

That was a reason Fox had oddly avoided bringing up within the past week. Knowing how touchy Fox could be about the subject, the other Star Fox members didn't bother to bring it up themselves.

Fox walked over to his bed once more, and sat down on it with all his weight. He hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees, and let his vision drift of into space once more. Out of the corner of the window a light glow of a shade of blue started to appear. The luminosity of planet Corneria began to haze over the blackness of space.

There was a knock at Fox's door.

Fox looked over his shoulder towards the door, "Come in."

The metal door hissed as locks were released and it slid open. It was Peppy.

"Hey Fox, how are you feeling?" Peppy asked as he walked in the room.

"Good as it gets Peppy. I just can't wait to see a blue sky for once." Fox replied.

"As do we all Fox. As do we all."

Peppy took a seat next to the vulpine.

"You ready for today? I can't even begin to imagine what kind of welcome they are going to have for us. I know the General well, he's bound to have something planned."

Fox just sighed and hung his head low.

"Now what's the matter with you?" Peppy asked with a soft laugh.

Fox just shook his head and smiled, "Peppy, you know I hate the attention. I don't want to be bombarded with interviews and all that crap. I didn't do this to be a celebrity, you know that."

Peppy placed his hand upon Fox's shoulder, "I know Fox. I'm just glad you didn't let it get the best of you. Anger is a deadly thing, it's almost gotten me killed on one occasion."

Fox turned his head towards the hare, "Pigma?"

Peppy sighed, "Yes, Fox. When he betrayed your father and I, I almost lost it. Never in my entire life had I felt such a uncontrollable rage come over me, I swore I would kill the bastard right then and there. I realized though, I was outnumbered, I had to get myself under control and get the hell outa there."

"So what did you do?"

Peppy paused for a moment, "I remembered that I promised James, if anything ever happened to him, I would take care of you. It was you Fox. You saved my life. Hadn't it been for that promise, I would probably be dead on that planet along side with your father."

"I'm glad you kept that promise Peppy, because I don't know what I would have done if neither of you came back."

Peppy patted the vulpine on the back, "Bah, you're strong like your father Fox, I'm sure you would have been able to pull through it. Now stand up and let me take a look at 'cha."

Fox cracked a smile and stood along with Peppy.

The hare took a step back and looked over Fox, "You look just like him Fox, a spitting image."

"Yeah, all I need is his sunglasses."

Peppy laughed, "Ah yes, he wore those things all the time. I thought they were fused to his head sometimes."

Peppy crossed his arms and smiled, "He would have been so damn proud of you Fox."

"I did it for him, Peppy. Nothing was going to stop me."

"Indeed. Sometimes I think your old man is watching over you. When we lost contact with you back on Venom, it felt like the incident with your father all over again. I almost lost my mind. But when we found you on the planet surface, I just couldn't believe it. It was a miracle you survived that crash...my god what a day that was indeed."

"Yeah, It ruined Slippy, that's for sure."

Peppy shook his head, "Poor kid, he really took it hard."

"I wish there was something we could do to bring him around." Fox implied.

"Well Fox, It might be best to just let him be for now. I would like to see him come around and stay with the team but you're going to have to let him decide, although it seems he already has."

"You're right, it is up to him." Fox replied with a discouraged tone.

"Well, who knows, maybe he will change his mind after Pepper cuts our check." Peppy chuckled out.

Fox just gave a nod.

"Alright Fox, let's go to the bridge. You gotta see Corneria, she's a beaut! The others are already waiting for us."

The two exited Fox's room and made their way down the main hall towards the bridge.

"Hey Peppy? Hold up."

The hare came to a stop and faced the vulpine, "Yes Fox?"

Fox looked around and then whispered, "Does Falco know about Slippy leaving?"

Peppy shook his head.

"Good, he's gonna freak when he does. The last thing I need right now is for him to be sending Slippy on a guilt trip. Alright, let's go to the bridge."

They continued on.

The entrance to the bridge slid open as the two approached.

Falco and Slippy were already there waiting for the rest of the team to show up. Slippy was busy making sure the ship was in check and ready for atmosphere entry. Falco was just slouched in one of the many captains chairs, trying not to dose off.

Right outside the bridges bay view was planet Corneria. Home.

"Wow Peppy, you were right, I forgot how beautiful it was." Fox was really awe-struck by the site he beheld.

"Yep, and we're almost there. 'Bout time."

"Yeah, 'bout _damn _time." Falco added in.

Peppy took a seat next to Falco as Fox walked over to the front of the bridge. He was so captivated by Corneria.

The vulpine stared at giant glowing blue ball of life. Thanks to him and his team, it was still there, in one piece.

"Hey Slip, how much longer till entry?" Fox asked.

"Ummm, half-hour? Not soon enough." The frog replied.

Fox laughed, "Come on, it's not that far."

He then turned and faced his crew, "Alright everyone, listen up!"

They all drew their attention towards their Captain, awaiting for what he had to say. Falco on the other hand continued to doze off with his feet up on the railing in front of his chair.

Fox motioned a nod towards Peppy, and then pointed to the snoozing avian.

The hare stood up and shoved Falco's legs from their perch.

Falco shot up in his chair, "What the hell was that for?! I'm listening!" He glared at Peppy who was holding back the laughter, "Alright McCloud, please go on. You have my undivided attention." Falco fell back in his seat with a huff and his arms crossed.

"Thank you Falco. Alright everyone, as you can see." Fox pointed over his shoulder, "We are almost home, and I just wanted to say a couple of things before we land."

"Oh man where are the tissues? I have a feeling this shit's gonna be moving."

"Falco, shut up!" Slippy yelled out.

Fox just rolled his eyes, "Listen...I just wanted to thank you, for everything. Being a part of this team, seeing this mission all the way through. And I wanted to thank you guys for saving my tail back on Venom. It's good to know I can count on you no matter what happens. You have all done the Star Fox team an honorable service. And that's all I really have to say."

"......Damn Fox, I've never felt so inspired in my life." Falco said sarcastically.

"Thanks Falco." Fox replied, shaking his head at the comment.

"Oh of _course_, Fox. I mean seriously? That part where you said, and that's all I really have to say, that really drove it home."

Fox just ignored the bird and finally took a seat at his chair, that was positioned at the center of the bridge.

Falco stood up, "You know, since we're doing testimonials, I have something to say also."

Fox leaned to the side and buried his face in one of his hands. "Here we go."

"I can't freaking wait to home, to get paid, to get off this damn ship, and no offense to you guys, but I can't wait to not have to see you all, every god damn day. And that's all _I _have to say." Falco sat back down.

Fox, still looking out the front view, gave a half-hearted applause to Falco's rant.

"Actually, that reminds me." Added Fox, "Peppy, have you finalized our bill for Pepper?"

"Yes I have Fox, I have it all in full detail. From ever ship we took down, to every ounce of fuel we burned along the way. It's all accounted for."

Falco turned his beak toward the hare, "So, how much?"

"Hmm?"

"_How much_."

"Oh, right. Well let's see." Peppy tapped a few buttons on the arm of his chair and a holographic screen appeared before him.

He scrolled to the bottom of the billing document, "And the grand total is... Five million credits."

Falco's eyes grew wide with excitement,"Are you kidding me?! Five mill...oh geez laweez, five million credits? We are going to be some rich mother fu-"

"_Falco." _Peppy snapped.

"Whatever old man, life is going to be _good._"

"Entering Corneria atmosphere in thirty minutes." Rob chimed out.

"I'm hoping the General will cover our cost of having new Arwings built." Said Peppy.

"Man, screw those things. I just wanna keep my feet on the ground for awhile, see the sites, and just have a good time for once." Said Falco.

Fox sighed, "Yeah, if there are any sites left to see."

"Thank you Captain Buzz-kill." Falco jeered.

They all sat in silence for a moment, watching the planet surface draw closer and closer with each passing minute. They all wanted the same thing, and so badly. They all wanted to be home and it was so close they could taste it. Fresh air, some decent food, and many other things awaited them on their home planet.

Falco got up from his seat and rested his arms upon the railing before him. Fox was sitting on the level below, right in front of him.

"Hey Foxie," Falco called out.

Fox looked up at the avian, "What's up?"

"What do you think they have planned for us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, you know. We are pretty much _legends _now Fox. We are going down in the freaking history books. They have to have some huge ceremony planed for the team. Medals, speeches, _parades_. Man I can just see it now. Thousands of screaming fans, trying to get a glimpse of us as we pass by. We are going to be rock stars bro!"

"Falco, we are soldiers, not celebrities. Don't be surprised if your _rock star _fantasy's don't come true."

"Oh no, we are hardly soldiers Fox. We are the Star Fox mercenary unit! The toughest four-man squadron in the entire system! We did what the entire Cornerian Fleet couldn't, we took down Andross's army. We saved the fucking day! So don't _you _be surprised if thousands of screaming girls are pining for you McCloud."

Slippy turned from his console, "That does sound pretty cool Fox."

Falco smiled in surprise, "Yes! Thank you-frog boy, that's what I'm talking about. Come on Fox, don't you ever want to have any fun in your life? The war is over, I think we all need a night out on the town, get blind drunk, and fuck shit up. Come on guys, let's do it."

Peppy spoke up, "I could use a beer myself, I'm in."

"Okay...alright, good, I got the old man on board. So McCloud? You down?"

Fox surrendered; he actually agreed with Falco. A little R&R sounded pretty good, "Alright Falco, I'm _down_."

"Hell _yes._ That's more like it McCloud."

"Hey Falco! Me too! I'm uh..._Down_." Slippy said, trying to sound cool.

"Yeah, alright I guess you can come too."

"Yes!" Slippy pumped his fist in the air.

"Alright gentlemen," Falco rested once more in his chair, "Let's have some well deserved, god damned, rest and relaxation_._ I bet they are rolling out the red carpet for us right now..."

"MESSAGE FROM GENERAL PEPPER." Rob chimed out, interrupting Falco.

Whenever a message from the general were to arrive at the Great Fox, there was always a sense of unease. It could either be good news or really bad news.

Fox stood from his seat and looked over at Peppy, "Were you expecting to hear from Pepper?"

Peppy shook his head,"No Fox,"

"Alright Rob, patch it through." Fox ordered.

"Affirmative." Rob responded.

With in seconds a holographic image of the General appeared above the main console of the ships controls.

"General, Star Fox reporting, sir!"

"Fox! Good to see you are doing well. I heard about everything that happened on Venom. You should be proud of your team."

"I am General, they did a great job."

"Better than _great_, Fox." Falco added.

Fox shot a impatient look towards the avian and mouthed the words "not now."

"Well Fox." The Pepper continued. "I must say we are forever in you debt for heroic acts through out the Lylat system. You did the impossible, and I wanted to extend my gratitude for the matter. Your father would be proud Fox."

"Thanks General. We're just glad it's finally over."

Suddenly a worried looked washed over the Generals face.

Fox picked up on this right away. "General?"

"Boys, I have some bad news."

With those words the General captured the attention of every Star Fox member; they did not like the sound of what they just heard.

"Fox, this fight isn't over yet."

"What?! What do you mean?!" Fox was totally caught off guard.

"The details are still coming in, but as far as we know, and underground militant group of Andross soldiers have banded together in efforts to capture the city. I'm sorry Fox and I hate to ask, but we need your help containing this."

"Well, General, this is a surprise. I mean, we aren't even combat ready! We are down 3 Arwings, and have used up a lot of our resources. We are pretty much running dry on everything."

"This will be a ground assignment Fox, you won't be needing your fighters. And we will supply you with anything you may need for this mission."

Fox looked around the bridge, seeing the shocked look on each team members face. No one could believe what they were hearing. They thought they were done, they thought the worst was over. This sudden call to duty frustrated Fox. He knew what his team had been through, and now the General was asking for them to take part in another mission, a type of mission that they don't even specialize in.

"General, with all due respect, I don't think my team is ready for another contract at the moment. We haven't even received payment for the Andross contract, let alone even send you the bill. I'm not sure we can accept this mission at the time being."

"Now Fox, please hear the General out." Peppy wasn't to pleased with the tone Fox had with Pepper.

"No Fox, you tell it like it is! I got your back!" Falco yelled out.

General Pepper paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully, and then continued, "Fox I understand that your unit isn't part of the Cornerian Army, and I respect your decisions as a leader. I know you have to adhere to the needs of your team, and their well being. This event has caught us all off guard however, and at the worst time possible. Corneria can not afford another tragedy, not in it's current state."

"General Pepper, I totally understand, but, you are asking to take part in a ground mission? That's not even our forte."

"Yeah, we ain't _Land _Fox." Falco added in.

Slippy sat in silence, as a huge knot formed in his stomach. Would Fox mention they were now down a team member? He hoped that he would keep quite about it for now, he didn't want Falco finding out.

"Why do you even need our help? Don't you have enough soldiers? What is the situation anyway?" Fox asked.

"Well Fox, from what we know, the enemy has captured a hospital in downtown Corneria City. Thousands are trapped inside, and they threaten to blow it off the map if we don't meet their demands."

"My God." Peppy let out under his breath.

Now Fox was caught, how could he say no to that? The lives of thousands were at stake, on his home planet. How could he turn down the General?

"And to answer your 1st question Fox, we need you and your team on this mission because you are under the radar, so to speak. The enemy will not be able to track your movements as easily as the Cornerian Army's."

"I find that hard to believe, what makes us any different?" Falco scoffed.

"Well, any contact we make with you is undocumented, and always through encrypted communication transmissions. You are nothing but ghosts on our battle network."

"Well General." Fox began, "We do have the Landmaster, and..."

"Oh no Fox, I'm sorry but the Landmaster will be off-limits. We can't afford the collateral damage. You shouldn't need it anyway."

"Entering Corneria atmosphere in 5 minutes." Rob routinely announced.

"Fox, listen. If you do this for us, I will double the amount you wanted for the Andross contract. Whatever it was going to be, double it."

Now there wasn't reason at all to say no. Ten million credits were now at stake, and that was an offer that only someone out of their mind would turn down.

"General, we are entering the planet's atmosphere within minutes. When we land at the base, we will have a decision for you."

"Very well Fox, we will be awaiting for you arrival. Pepper out." The General's holographic portrait vanished.

Fox looked around at his team, "So, what's it going to be?"

Falco stood with his arms rested on the railing in front of his seat, his head hung over. He sighed, and raised his head, looking at Fox, "It doesn't really sound like we have a choice. We say no, Corneria is screwed, and I'm sure the General will spread the word we didn't help out."

"No, I'm sure he wouldn't do that. After what we have done for the army already would be enough reason for the General not to slander us like that." Peppy reassured.

Falco raised his brow. "Oh really? How would it look if we show up, drop a five million credit bill on the General, and then cut and run? Yeah, real heroes we would be then."

Peppy stood there scratching his chin, "Dammit Falco, you have a point. That's not gonna look good at all. What do you think Fox? It is your call."

Fox ran this hand down the center of his head, through his fur, as his eyes jumped around in thought, "Alright team, I say we go down there, see what this is all about, and if we think we can handle it, let's do it. I mean, hell... It's double or nothing now. Might be worth a look."

"Yeah, ten million credits? Shit, I'm gonna buy one sweet ass car." Falco laughed out. "That is if I'm not dead by the end of the day."

"I'm sorry to interrupt guys, but we're going to be breaking through the atmosphere within the minute, you might wanna buckle up." Reported Slippy.

Fox gave Slippy a nod and then addressed the rest of the team, "You heard em."

With that they all took their seats, and strapped in.

Robs robotic voice rang out once more, "Entering atmosphere in...3...2...1"

The Great Fox ripped through the planets atmosphere with a bright red glow over the front of the ship from the extreme heat. In no time they were through. After about one week of space travel, the Great Fox was in route to finally touch down. The Great Fox dove into the ocean of cloud cover that washed over the land mass that was home to Corneria City.

Slippy pushed a few buttons on his console and held a communicator to his ear, "This is Star Fox, requesting clearance to land on Corneria Army Base, Area 55, west strip. Over?"

He paused for a response.

The communications channel lit up, .Roger that, Star Fox, this is Control. You are cleared for landing on the west strip. Take extreme caution through the cloud layer. Severe thunder storms are passing through currently. Welcome home."

"Roger Control, we'll be on the ground shortly. Alright Rob, bring us in!" said Slippy.

Soon the outside of the bridge grew dark as rainfall began to wash over the bridge's main bay window.

"God damn, it's like everywhere we go it's freaking raining! I'm surprised it wasn't raining out in space." Falco complained.

"We probably won't even get to see the city. It might be like this all the way to the ground." Peppy added.

However, right after the hare's last statement, they broke through the bottom of the cloud layer reveling the Cornerian Army base. They were right on course. The west landing strip was illuminated so they could safely guide the Great Fox through the storm.

"Reverse thrusters ignited, landing gear, extended." Rob announced.

The landing strip grew closer and closer, at a slowly steadying pace. Everyone could feel the ship lunge forward adjusting to the g-forces as it made it's way to the ground.

Then it finally happened, after weeks of being away from home, the Great Fox touched down on Corneria.

With a hydraulic hiss, the landing gear supported the weight of the massive ship as it landed.

"Touchdown." Rob said in his usual robotic way.

"Okay Rob, power down the engines and do a full ship assessment so we can report what supplies we need," addressed Slippy.

"Affirmative, Slippy. Running full diagnostic scan."

Fox then spoke up, "Alright everyone, let's move it to the lift. I'm sure the General is on his way to meet us.

They all rose from their seats and headed towards the main hall. Fox was wondering what Slippy would do. Would he stay behind? Come up with some kind of excuse? No, he didn't. He made the trip to the main lift with the rest of the team without a word.

"Maybe he changed his mind." Fox thought to himself.

They piled into the lift and Fox punched the decent button.

The hydraulic platform lowered itself from the middle of the ship towards the cold, wet, cement. When they emerged from the Great Fox's hull they could see military vehicles approaching them from the base. The General was on his way.

With in a minute the lift touched down on the runway below. The safety railings lifted allowing the Star Fox team to finally step foot on solid ground once again.

"And it's fucking raining." Falco complained once more.

"Eh, at least the air is fresh." Peppy said as he took a deep breath of air.

"Yeah the smell of our engine exhaust really does it for me too."

Peppy broke out into cough, "Why you always gotta be such a downer Falco?"

"You know me gramps, I'm just keeping it real." Falco smirked.

It was evening, the faint light from the blazing sun hung over to the west. There was no sign in the break of the storm, and it was cold as hell.

The team waited under the Great Fox for the small convoy to arrive; hidden from the rain.

With in moments three standard army transports screeched to a halt near the Great Fox.

Then, from middle-vehicle, emerged General Pepper dressed in his usual formal military attire. From his own, and the two other army transports came fully armed Cornerian army troops. They were always with the General for his protection, and at a time like this no chances were taken.

Pepper approached Fox and his team, "Star Fox! It's good to see you boys made it back in one piece!"

The four mercenaries stood up straight and saluted the General. "It's good to be back, sir." Fox stated.

The old hound walked through the rain and approached the vulpine. He outstretched his paw. "You did a damn fine job McCloud, your father would be proud."

"Wasn't just me General." Fox returned the favor and they shook hands.

"Indeed, you should be very proud of your team Fox."

Falco jumped at this opportunity, "Yeah, he sat us down and told us how _proud _he was already. It was a real tear jerker....uh, sir!"

Fox shook his head, "I'm sorry General, you know how he is."

"Yes I do. " The General stood before Falco, towering over him. "Sometimes I think his stubbornness is the only reason he's standing here right now."

"Hey, I do what I can. Gotta keep the rest of them from going soft." Falco replied.

The General smiled and shook Falco's wing, "Damn fine work son."

"Usually is."

Then Pepper faced Peppy. "Peppy Hare. Good to see you old friend."

"General." Peppy smiled, "It's been a long few weeks, I could barely keep up with these kids."

"An old war vet like you? Ha! I'm sure you were the one calling out the shots on the field."

Falco interrupted once more, "Yeah, he sure as hell was. Do a _barrel _roll! Sure, like we had _no _idea."

Fox, who was standing next to the outspoken avian, elbowed the bird in the side and glared at him.

"Jeez Fox! Take it easy! We ain't part of this military anyway."

"Come on Falco, show some respect!" Fox snapped.

"I am! I was just merely commenting on Peppy's verbal diarrhea of advice while we are in the middle of combat! I'm sure you agree it was _most _useful."

Slippy let a laugh escape.

Fox's vision snapped around to the frog standing on his other side, finding him with his hand over his mouth, holding in the laughter.

"General, I'm really sorry." Fox apologized.

Pepper laughed, "It's quite alright Fox, I'm not concerned of your team's behavior after you amazing act of service..."

"General Pepper!" A voice called out from on of the army transports.

The old hound turned to the sound of the voice, a black wolf stepped out of the Generals transport, into the rain, and approached the group.

He was dressed in camouflage army gear, and had a matching standard solider cap.

The wolf addressed the General, "Sir I hate to interrupt, but we don't have much time. We just got word from intel and it's not good. We only have about 3 and a half hours."

"Very well. Fox, this is Sergeant Patrick Richards, he is going to be briefing you on this mission, and leading it as well on the field. That is however, if you choose to except."

Richards turned towards Fox, "So you're Fox McCloud? You're the one who took down Andross?"

"Yes sir, Captain Fox McCloud of the Star Fox team, at your service, sir."

The wolf smiled, "It's an _honor, sir._ A damn fine honor. I think this operation will be a walk in the park with you on board."

The two shook hands.

Richards spoke once more, "Alright Fox, you and your team pile into that transport, and we will make our way to the briefing room."

"You heard him team, let's move it." Fox commanded.

The four mercenaries walked through the pouring rain to their assigned transport. Fox rode shotgun while the others piled into the back.

Fox turned to the driver, "What about the other soldiers that rode out with you?"

The driver, a weasel dressed in usual army attire, started up the vehicle and then turned to Fox. "Don't worry about them, they are gonna stay behind and watch your ship as the crews come out to fuel it up and all that shit."

The driver took a good look at Fox, and then looked over his shoulder, seeing the rest of the team, "God damn, I can't believe it. _Star Fox, _in my very own back seat. You guys are fucking legends, it's a real honor!"

"See!! That's what I was talking about! You just heard it first-hand, we are legends." Falco folded his arms with a smug smile on his face.

Fox just sat back in his seat, watching the rain wash over the windshield as they drove back towards the base. He had a feeling he was going to hear the word "legends" a lot today.

Falco leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder, "So buddy, you know anything about this operation?"

The weasel looked up in the review mirror, back at Falco. "No sir, they haven't told us a damn thing about it. Only the Sarge really knows the details; him and the General. All I know is that it's bad enough for them to ask you guys for help."

"The fun just never ends, huh McCloud?" Falco said, hitting Fox on the shoulder.

Fox tried to keep it light-hearted, "Yeah, but we gotta keep the Great Fox fueled up somehow." He cracked a smile as he looked back at his team.

They drove on, drawing closer and closer to the base. Fox noticed the place was deserted, only a few scattered soldiers were seen here and there.

"Where is everyone?" The vulpine asked.

The driver responded, "Well, at the moment, half our unit is still doing recon missions around the system, trying to mob up anything left over from the war, and the other half are out in the city. Either waiting for orders on what's about to go down, or taking part in the war relief."

"How could four extra bodies make the difference?" Fox thought to himself.

They finally came to a stop in front of an old army building, labeled "briefing" above the front doors.

"Okay, this is the place."

Fox looked back at his team once more, "Alright everyone, let's move it."

Star Fox jumped out of the transport, and made their way to the briefing room. Fox noticed Slippy was very removed at the moment; lagging behind, and he knew exactly why.

Fox slowed up his pace until Slippy was now at his side, "Hey, don't worry about anything, I didn't forget what we talked about, okay?"

Slippy nodded and let out a heavy sigh, "Thanks Fox."

Soon they were out of the rain, and inside the building. Within the structure were rows of folding chairs, and a projector screen. There were about a dozen troops sitting inside, waiting for their brief.

Sergeant Richards made his way to the front of the room with the General by his side.

"Star Fox team." The lupine Sergeant called out. "We have seats for you up front here."

Falco let out a whistle, "Damn, front row? Told you guys. From now on, we are getting all the perks. I mean shit, we coulda sat in the 2nd row, hell even the third, but no we..."

"Falco will you shut up!" Slippy snapped as they took a seat.

The avian shot a look of disgust at him and then looked away, "Jeez Slippy, take it easy."

Sergeant Richards turned on the projector which drew everyone's attention to the front.

The wolf spoke. "Alright everyone, listen up. I'm going to make this brief quick. I'm sorry to rush something like this, but as I have just found out, we are on a time limit now. We have about a little less than three and a half hours now until this mission is considered lost. I'm going to go over what we know so far so listen up soldiers, I'm not going to repeat any of this. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The small crowd of soldiers responded.

"Good. Let's begin."

The Sergeant pushed a few buttons on a laptop computer hooked up to the projector. An image of an ape wearing a formal military outfit appeared on the projector screen.

"This..." The wolf began, "Is Magnus Veridan. Take a good look at him, he is your target soldiers. He was once the Colonel of Andross's army, and from what the reports say, he was also Andross's right hand man. He planned some of the biggest campaigns against us, such as Katina, the attack on our fleet in Sector Y, and of course, the surprise attack on our homeland Corneria . Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilian lives were lost because of this dirty ape, and that's enough of a reason for me blow his head right off his shoulders."

Richards changed the slide, "Unfortunately, it's not going to be as easy as we would like it to be, and here is why. You are about to watch a video we received from Magnus 3 hours ago."

The wolf clicked a few more buttons to play the video.

Magnus appeared on the screen. He sat in an old rundown room, perhaps in an abandon building somewhere in the city. He was slouched with his arms crossed, resting on his knees. In his right hand he held a pistol.

The ape looked dead into the camera, and spoke, "Good afternoon, Corneria. My name....Well, it's not really important. For all I am concerned, you can call me God, because the fate of this crumbling city is now in my very own hands. You see, about one week ago, your government told you good citizens that the Lylat Wars were over; had come to a close. They told you our leader, our great _ruler, _had been slain by Star Fox. Unfortunately, that last bit of news, is very true. Emperor Andross has passed on to the afterlife." Magnus paused. "He was such a brilliant man. He accomplished such amazing things within only a matter of years. Certain _things _your government saw as a threat to society and well..."

Magnus smiled and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I am one to go on about history and such. There isn't much time to waste! So I will be quick to make my point. In a fair world, when a life is taken, it should be repaid with another life. An eye for an eye, a life for a life, an law that's as old as dirt. Some say it isn't a civil ideal, but those very same people also believe war is the only true way to peace. So without further ado, here is my proposal. A life for a life, that first life being Andross, and the second life being the one who murdered him, Fox McCloud. Deliver him to Corneria Hospital, in the heart of the city, before sun down, or we will blow the building straight to hell. I'm sure it's a very populated premises at the moment, so I do believe you should choose wisely. It's very simple really. Would you rather dig one grave? Or thousands? It's time to choose Corneria, so choose wisely, because I'm afraid if you don't make the right choice by sundown, there will be war by sunrise. That is all for now."

Then the screen went blank.

Fox suddenly felt all eyes were on him. Today just wasn't his day.

Falco noticed everyone gawking at Fox, almost as if they were waiting for him to say something.

He lifted his wing over the vulpine's head and pointed, "Popular guy, right here."

It became all to clear why they wanted Fox on this mission. He was what Magnus wanted, because of him thousands of lives were at stake. The irony was almost funny. He put him self at risk to save the entire Lylat system from total annihilation, and now he was given another ultimatum. He had to _give _his life in order to save this system from another impending war.

The General, monitoring the brief from the corner of the room, walked over to Fox and stood before the Vulpine. Fox had his face buried in his hands. He knew how this was going to turn out.

Fox then let out a heavy sigh, and stood, meeting eyes with Pepper. The rest of Fox's team got to their feet along with their leader.

"Fox...I'm sorry. I should have told you before..."

Falco, throwing respect aside once again, interrupted the General, "So what?! After all Fox has done for your sorry asses you just decide to sell him out? I think he deserves a little more than that!"

Pepper glared at the aggravated avian, "Did you not see the that video? This entire city...this..this entire System is teetering on the edge of war and peace once again."

"Well that's too bad! You ain't selling out _MY _captain! You got that you old hound?!"

The General's mouth hung open, "Why, how dare you speak to me like that! Do you forget who I am?!"

"No, I know exactly who you are: a _client_."

"Yeah! How can you do this to Fox!" Slippy added in.

Surprised by this, Falco glanced at the Frog and gave him an approving nod.

The General cleared his throat in a frustrated manner, "Do you even _know _what I am proposing?"

Falco scratched his head, "Well, I'm not sure. Is it something like, slap a big fucking bow on Fox's head and leave him at the front door?"

Fox glanced at Peppy; he was keeping silent as well. They locked eyes, they both knew that this _was _the only answer. Fox admired Falco standing up for him, even if he did just call the General an "old hound".

"If you would only give Sergeant Richards a moment to explain I'm sure you-" The General was cut off yet again.

"Oh I'm sorry, do you have some big rescue mission planned for Fox?! What's wrong with going down there and capping the motherfucker?"

"Falco please, calm down." Peppy pleaded.

"Calm down? What the hell is wrong with you?! You think _James _would sell out his son like this? You should be no different!"

"FALCO, that's enough!" Fox snapped.

The avian closed his beak.

Fox then turned his focus to the General, "I'll do it."

Falco's beak dropped, "WHAT?! Are you serious..."

Fox held up his palm towards Falco, silencing the bird.

Then the vulpine's face turned serious. "Twenty million credits, in our account, _now_."

Peppers eyes grew wide, "Fox!...I don't know if.."

"Twenty million, or no deal."

The General sighed. "So be it, I'll get you the money."

"General, I understand what has to be done." Fox began, "But leaving this little detail about needing me for a hostage trade kinda pisses me off. After all I have been through. Hell, after everything my _TEAM _has been through, I would think you would have a little more respect for us. You pretty much just roped us in with out giving any of the details. So as far as I'm concerned General, if I'm somehow still alive by tomorrow, Star Fox will no longer be accepting contracts from this army. Is that clear General Pepper?"

"Fox, please be rational, we will get you out, we will bring you home." The General reassured.

Fox scowled, "I'm sorry General, but we have a brief to finish. So, if you wouldn't mind, we would like those twenty million credits, in our account, _now._"

"Very well Fox. Good luck on the mission." Pepper replied, half-heartedly.

The General stormed out of the room, but not before he could shoot a glare one last time at Fox and his team.

Even after the very awkward moment, Sergeant Richards tried to stay professional, and continued his brief, "Alright men, we roll out in 10 minutes. We are taking four transports down to the hospital. We should be able to get there in half an hour. It's going to be fairly simple if it goes off without a hitch. We roll up...." He paused for a moment and glanced at Fox with sympathy in his eyes, "And deliver Fox to Magnus, which in turn, he should keep his end of the deal and release the hostages. We ordered the local police to hold their position until we get there. Who knows what would happen if they trying to take the situation into their own hands, but we explained everything our intelligence could find out. They are in an agreement with our orders at the moment."

Falco spoke up, "Okay, so what if this plan doesn't work out at all. What if we _roll up, _hand over ol' Foxie here, like some fucking package, and this Magnus guy just can't help himself and caps Fox right then and there. Kinda screws up the rescue mission if you ask me."

"Don't worry, we will have it covered from all angles, if Magnus makes a move, we drop him." Richards reassured.

"So you're just assuming he's a man of his word then?" Falco asked.

The wolf shook his head, "For the sake of all the lives in that hospital, I really hope he is."

"Yeah, this is still bullshit either way, I can't believe you're doing this to him. I mean..." Falco turned his head towards the angered vulpine, "Fox,I know you're a selfless son of a bitch, but this really taking it too far. How can you just give yourself up like this? You're the god damn hero of Lylat! Not some damn pushover."

Fox couldn't take anymore although the avian meant well, it frustrated him with the way he was acting, "Falco, If I don't do this thousands will die within hours! How could I say no to this?!"

"McCloud, I'm not about to let these losers deliver my best friend to the slaughter." This time Falco's words seem to lighten, he almost seemed to be getting flustered about the whole situation.

He continued, "Fox, after all we have been through...we grew up together man. Now I'm suppose to stand by and watch you get sent off as a peace offering? How do you even know they have a plan to get you out?"

Fox's stomach just tied into knots. He didn't think of something such as that. Maybe this was just a set up, and maybe they were going to just deliver him, and hope for the best.

Peppy stood by Falco. "As much as I hate to say it Fox, Falco's right. I ain't going to let these assholes do this to you. We gotta come up with another way. Come on Fox, you're more resourceful than this. What would your father do Fox?"

Fox turned to Sergeant Richards. "What is the plan to bring me home? And don't bullshit me."

"Well....We assume they would move you off site to another location, so we would track you until it was the right time to break you out of their custody and take down Magnus. We want both of you alive of course."

Peppy spoke up, "Who's the top priority target? In that situation?"

Richards let out a sigh, "In that situation, according to the General, it's Magnus."

Fox hung his head.

He wasn't even the top priority.

They wanted to Magnus alive over himself. Right now, if what was at stake were different, he would have no problem giving the General the finger and taking his team else where. Unfortunately, Fox didn't want thousands of dead innocents on his conscious, or maybe even another war. What _would_ his father do?

Suddenly the silence of the room was interrupted by a electronic chime. Falco, Fox, and Peppy turned their heads towards Slippy, who was now his seat, looking at a small PDA device.

The frog looked up at his team members, "It's...it's done. The twenty million, It's in our account! Were freaking rich!"

Slippy jumped to his feet and scrambled over to the rest of his team. They huddled around Slippy as he showed them the proof on his small electronic device.

Falco's eyes grew wide, "Shit man, we _are _rich. I can't believe the old hound delivered!"

"Well team." Fox spoke, as all three Star Fox members aimed their attention at him, "The General delivered, so why don't we return the favor." The vulpine gave a sly smile.

"Oh shit, we know what that means." Falco always could tell when Fox had something cooking up in that striped head of his.

"Alright, listen up. As far as I'm concerned, this mission is now under Star Fox control, as far as our contracts state, if there is payment, then we are in complete command of this operation. Are our transports loaded up and ready to go Sergeant?"

"Well uh, yes they are but I'm sorry Captain McCloud, this operation is under my command."

"Tell that to your men, Sergeant. Their the ones who are enlisted. You want Magnus? Consider it done Richards, I guess we'll meet you there. COME ON TEAM LETS MOVE!"

Fox bolted towards the door, his team following close behind.

"Oh fuck yes!" Falco cheered out.

Fox shoulder rammed the double doors, flinging them open. Outside they found three transports ready and waiting. They were loaded up with all sorts of gear and weapons for the field.

Fox ran up to the side of one of the vehicles and threw open the door, catching the driver by surprise.

It was the same weasel from earlier. "Oh hey, where's everyone else? We heading out? Captain?"

Fox shook his head. "Get out."

"What? But I'm suppose to drive you..."

Fox drew his blaster from his vest. "I said get the fuck out! Now!"

"Oh shit, Okay, Okay, take it easy." The weasel slowly got out of the vehicle.

Fox swiftly took his place at the drivers seat as his other team members, who were a bit shocked with Fox's actions, took their seats in the army vehicle as well.

The vulpine holstered his weapon, "Look soldier, you just did a greater service to your planet than you ever have, thanks. Sorry about the hostility, but we gotta jet."

Fox slammed the driver door punched the pedal to the floor, causing the wet tires to squeal. With the back wheels breaking lose from their grip on the wet asphalt Fox spun the army truck around and then floored it towards the Great Fox.

As they sped off Sergeant Richards and his men busted through the briefing room doors with their side arms drawn. They took aim at the vehicle that was now headed towards the air field.

"Orders sir?" A raccoon soldier asked.

"Lower you weapons men. Mount up and we can try to stop them at their ship. I don't know what Fox is planning, but we cannot let them jeopardize his operation! So let's move soldiers!"

Fox gripped his hands tightly around the steering wheel as the engine roared and the Great Fox grew closer and closer.

"Christ Fox, what the hell has gotten into you? You grown your spine back or something?" Falco asked from the front passenger seat.

"Look, I'm sorry. I realized I wasn't acting as your Captain. I didn't want to just give up on you guys like that. Peppy, you remember how you always tell me to trust my instincts? Well, that's what I'm doing right now. I say screw the General, and let's do this our way. They want this Magnus guy in custody? Then let's go get him. We know where he is, and what we have to do to get to him. I know we are fighter pilots, but we have been through every type of military training under the god damn sun. I'm sure we can figure something out. We got all the tools we need right here in this truck."

"I think they call these hummers, Fox." Falco added.

"Well, whatever! You guy's in or out?"

"I have no idea what you could possibly be planing McCloud, but fuck yes I'm in." Falco smiled and gave a thumbs-up, or in his case a feathers-up.

The vulpine looked up in the review mirror, "Peppy?"

Peppy shook his head, "Fox, you are the leader of this team. Even though I think you have gone bat-shit crazy, I'm going to have to say yes. You probably have a better plan than what they had. I'm not letting them send you up the shits creek with out a paddle. Besides, I think we just broke a military law by stealing this hummer. We can't enjoy our twenty million from jail."

"Thanks Pep, I'm sorry. I know I'm acting a little crazy. I just.."

"Fox, don't worry about it. Let's just say you're becoming more like your father, yet again."

Fox rolled his eyes, "Thanks."

Falco twisted around in his seat, and looked right at Slippy, who had been unusually quiet the entire time, "So what's the word frog-boy? You ready for this?"

Slippy hung his head. "I don't think I really have a choice."

That wasn't really the response Fox wanted to hear, but it did give him a little bit of extra hope for this mission. He was driving back to the Great Fox for Slippy anyway.

"Alright Slippy, listen up. I want you in the Great Fox, circling the city. I want you to be our eyes and ears for this mission. I want you to survey everything that's going on down on the ground. Intercept any type of communication, either ally or enemy. I have a feeling they are going to try to stop us from doing things our way. Can you do that?"

Slippy nodded his head, "Um, sure Fox. Yeah, Rob and I can keep watch over you guys. I can track each one of you using the chips we have implanted in us. I'll hack whatever information I can get from Corneria's intel. I'll do it Fox. I would rather do this than have them just take you away."

When Fox and his friends enlisted in the Cornerian Army years ago, they all had to have a tracking device inserted under their skin. The General said it was logical in the sense of keeping track of their fighter pilots mostly, in case they were shot down and needed rescue.

"Thanks Slippy, thanks." Fox couldn't believe his ears. Slippy was pulling through.

"Why the hell are you so thankful towards him for? It's his freaking job!" Falco complained.

After a few minutes of blasting through the rain, Fox slammed on the breaks and slid the vehicle to a stop. The Great Fox now loomed over, casting a shadow over them. From the looks of it, they had just finished re-fueling the ship, seeing as they were disconnecting the fuel trucks from the main tanks.

"Alright Slip, I hate to bark orders at you, but get to the Great Fox and get it in the air. We are going to drive down to the city, keep an eye on us okay? Give us anything we might need to help us out!"

"Aye-aye Captain." Slippy saluted Fox and his team, and bailed out of the hummer and ran full speed towards the Great Fox's main lift what was still extended to the ground. They watched him sprint towards ship, but then cringed when they saw the frog trip and fall to the ground. Slippy wasn't the most graceful individual. He climbed to his feet without looking back, and made his way to the lift once again.

Falco laughed, "Shit, and you gave him the _important _job. Man, we are fucked."

As the frog finally reached the lift, Fox thew the army hummer in drive and spun it around once more. Now he had to make it all the way to the front gate of the army base, and then into the city. He could only guess he had but a couple of hours until the sun set. They didn't have much time until they detonated the bomb.

"Alright, ear pieces in. I'm sure Slippy will be contacting us soon." Fox commanded.

Falco and Peppy, along with Fox, pulled a small wireless commutation pieces from their uniform vests and placed them over one of their ears.

"Oh shit, looks like we've got company." Falco pointed over the hood of the humvee.

A small convoy of five other army transports rolled up about thirty feet from their own.

"Shit, now what do we do Fox?" The avian asked his Captain.

Soon soldiers poured out of their vehicles and made a small line, all drawing their weapons at Star Fox's stolen humvee.

Sergeant Richards stepped out of his transport into the pouring rain, with a megaphone in hand.

He held up the megaphone to this snout. "Fox! Don't do this! This isn't going to work! You are jeopardizing this mission with your recklessness! You can't possibly imagine doing this on your own! That is impossible! You have no idea what you're up against! So toss your weapons out of the vehicle and step out and lie face down on the ground!"

Fox glanced at his two fellow team mates,"What do you think? You think I'm crazy? You think we can't do this? Maybe he's right, maybe we are out of our league with this one."

Falco pulled his blaster from his vest, and checked it to make sure it was combat ready, "Eh, it's worth a shot. Right old man?"

Peppy cracked a smile, "That's what you said about Solar. So yeah, I'm still in."

Sergeant Richards was growing restless. "Alright men, get ready to move in on my mark. We need the fox alive."

The wolf held up the megaphone once more. "This is your last chance Fox McCloud. Come on! Be reasonable! You can _not _do this on your own!"

"Tell that to Andross." Fox punched the gas pedal to the floor.

The tires screamed, the engine roared, Fox clenched the steering wheel, and scrunched his brow. "Hold on."

The hummer lurched forward, heading right toward the other army transports.

"Take aim soldiers!" Sergeant Richards commanded.

They all raised their plasma rifles and set their sites on the in coming vehicle, but it was too late.

"Oh shit! Get out of the way!!" A random soldier yelled out.

They all dove out of the as Fox smashed through the middle of the stationary troop transports. One to the right of Fox was able to back out of the way in time, but the other wasn't so quick. The front left corner of Star Fox's hummer clipped the grill of the apposing vehicle, causing it to spin a full 360 degrees on impact; smashing the front grill and ripping off the left front fender. The crash only left but a minor crumple on Fox's hummer's hood.

They sped off towards the front gate of the army base.

Falco, holding on to the hand grip above, looked over at Fox, "Christ McCloud, you didn't think to drive _around_? I'm surprised you didn't blow out the windshield."

"Yeah Fox, keep the stunts to a minimum please? You hurt one of those soldiers then we are really in for it." Peppy added.

"Sorry, Just got caught up in the moment." Fox replied.

"Well this ain't a frigging movie Foxie, so chill!" Falco scoffed.

They blasted off the airstrip onto an old beat-up concrete road that led through the base, and eventually to the front gate.

"Shit Fox, here they come!" Falco called out.

Behind them, the four remaining army vehicles raced to catch up to Star Fox.

A fellow hummer raced up along side of Fox and his Team. A Cornerian soldier emerged from the hood of the vehicle with a plasma rifle in hand. A laser sight lit up on the end of the gun, but it wasn't aiming at any of the passengers or the driver of Star Fox's hummer.

"He's going for the tires Fox!" Peppy shouted.

Fox had to think fast, and for the time being, there was really only one option. Fox took a quick glance to his right, where the other humvee was pacing them. He jerked the wheel to the right and slammed into them. The driver lost control and the gunner dropped his rifle. The hummer started to fishtail sideways. There was nothing the driver could really do, the road was wet, which made it impossible to get the vehicle back under control at these high speeds. They were now spinning completely out of control. The remaining humvees swerved out of the way of their out of control comrades. This caused two others to lose their footing, spin out and smash into each other; disabling both vehicles. Now there was one left trying to chase them down, but in time, as they reached the heart of the base, they backed down.

"Woo! Looks like they threw in the towel." Falco cheered.

Suddenly an image of Sergeant Richards showed up on the hummer's video com link that was installed on the center of the dashboard, "Alright Fox, you win. I don't want any of my men injured because of your recklessness. I have no idea why you are doing this, but if you are going to head down the hospital, what in the hell could you possibly be planning?"

Fox flipped a switch on the com system to allow him to respond to Richards. "Well, to be honest, I have no idea. We know the basics, what to do, what not to do, and I also know this Magnus guy wants me dead. So if I'm going to give myself up to this madman, I'm going to do it on my own terms, I'm not going to let the Army deliver me like some gift."

"I understand. I can't say I fully agreed with the General's plan, but he's the boss, and what he says goes. So what do you plan to do when you reach Magnus?"

"Well, hopefully he is a man of his word. I'll try to strike up a deal with him. He gets me, but only if he disables the bomb and lets everyone go."

Richards let out a sigh. "Well hopefully he will be compliant with the ultimatum given to him. Then what do you plan to do? Remember, we want this ape alive, he could be our ticket to rooting out the rest of the Andross guerrillas."

"I haven't figured that part out yet, but we will get your man. You have my word Sergeant."

Fox switched off the com link and the screen went blank.

Now they were passing through the heart of the army base. It was dense with all sorts of buildings that all had a purpose keeping the base running. The guard shack was now in site, but the gate was already raised. Perhaps they knew they were coming.

They drove past the guard shack with out even slowing down, passing by the guard that felt the need to salute Star Fox as they passed.

Falco looked back over his shoulder, "Well, it's nice to know we still got some fans."

Now they were on the road that would take them into Corneria City. It was about a thirty minute drive through the rolling Corneria hills until the landscape flattened out and the city revieled itself.

"Okay Fox," Falco began, "What _is _the plan?"

Fox just had his eyes locked onto the road, he wasn't quick to reply. "Well, we know the situation, we know this Magnus guy wants me. I can't imagine that's all he be demanding. I'm sure there is more to it than that though."

Falco thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know, maybe he's hungry? We could grab a pizza on the way, maybe some drinks...."

"Falco, you're not helping." Peppy added in, with a serious tone.

"Oh really? You have any ideas grandpa?"

"Dammit Falco I'm not that old yet, and no, I have no ideas. I haven't planned out anything like this in ages."

"Well we need to come up with something! We are going to be there in no time so it would be nice if we knew what fucking plan is going to be!"

"Alright alright! Look, I hate saying this, but I think I need to just give myself up to Magnus and then...." Fox just didn't know what to do.

"...And then?" Falco asked.

"Shit Falco, I don't know. I guess you'll just have to hope he doesn't blow my head off."

"Great plan McCloud, you have really out done yourself this time." Falco jeered.

Fox glared at the avian. "If you have any better ideas, let me know."

Suddenly a shadow loomed over their transport. The Great Fox soared overhead, making it's way towards the city.

"So far, so good." Peppy sighed.

The drive seemed longer that it should have been. The windy road that weaved through out the rolling hills seemed to be never ending. Daylight was fading ever slowly as the three members of the Star Fox team drove towards the city.

Finally, over the crest of the hills, they could see the skyline of Corneria City. It wasn't quite how they remembered it though. It was a war torn derelict of a city.

The broken skyscrapers loomed closer and closer as the hummer pressed on through the rain.

"Home sweet home." Falco said.

"This city certainly has seen better days." Peppy said as he watched the ruined city scape draw closer with every minute.

Fox broke into a violent cough, he tried to hold it in though as he held the wheel tightly.

"Shit Fox, you alright? Keep forgetting you ain't up to snuff yet." Falco said.

Fox coughed up a little bit of blood into his hand, "Ugh, no, I'm fine." He tried to hide the blood.

Falco grabbed Fox's wrist and opened up his fist, seeing the small spray of red on his paw.

"Christ Fox, lucky for you we are going to a freaking _hospital_. How's that irony for ya."

"I'll be fine, I'm not dying or anything." Fox said.

"Yeah, not yet at least. Think of a plan yet?"

"Yeah....I have."

Finally the borders of Coneria City were in view, the open land was coming to an end where the sprawling city begins.

There was only one problem though.

"Shit they got a check point set up at the city border!" Falco complained.

He was right, a good size Cornerian Army unit was set up on the road ahead. Many different tents were set up to house the higher ranking officers, while the rest of the soldiers kept watch over the large steel barricade they set up.

"You're not going to ram through this too are you Fox?" Falco asked.

"Yeah Fox, take it easy." Peppy added.

Fox started to let off the gas, and the hummer rolled to a stop at the check point in front of a make shift gate.

The soldier on duty approached their vehicle and tapped on the driver side window.

Fox rolled down the window and the soldier spoke. "Sorry, no one's getting through right now. We got the entire downtown area on lock down. No one gets in or out."

Falco leaned forward to get a look at the trooper, "Hey Einstein, you didn't get the memo? Were here to fix your little problem you got in the city." Falco grabbed Fox's shoulder and shook it, "And you don't recognize this asshole right here?"

The soldier squinted at the vulpine, "Oh shit...You...You're Fox...Fox McCloud!"

Fox nodded his head but before he could speak Falco cut him off, "Yeah yeah, he's Fox, I'm Falco, he's Peppy, we're Star Fox, OPEN THE DAMN GATE!"

"But I thought you were going in with Sergeant Richards. Isn't this his operation?"

"They're going to catch up later, there's been a change of plans." Fox explained. "And that's Captain Fox McCloud to you solider! So can you please let us through already? The clock is ticking!"

"Y..yes sir!! OPEN THE GATE! LET THEM THROUGH! THIS IS STAR FOX!"

Two large steel doors slid open, revealing the path way into Corneria City.

"Thanks soldier." Fox gave a quick salute.

"It's an honor sir!"

Fox rolled up the window, and drove on. All the troops in the area watched and cheered as they drove past.

"Yeah, it's good to be back. " Falco said with a smirk on his face. Then he turned to Fox with a mocking tone, " And that's _Captain _Fox McCloud to you. You're just lucky everyone forgets we are mercenaries. You ain't _his _captain."

Fox just rolled his eyes, "It worked didn't it?! Look, how long till we are at the hospital?"

Falco leaned forward and fiddled with the computer installed in the vehicle, a image of a map appeared on screen; it was GPS device.

"Oh sweet, looks like they did the work for us. Looks like we are about...three miles west of it. Just keep going down the road, and then turn left on, main then it's only like, uhhh... Five blocks." Falco instructed.

"Sounds like a plan." Fox said.

They drove on through the broken city. It wasn't the most inspiring thing to return home to. Everything was just so bleak, the colors just seemed faded and washed out. All they could see was smashed windows, cracked concrete, burnt remains of many assorted cars and other vehicles. Fox slowly weaved his way through the wreckage, looking for any sign of life on the way. They thought they would receive a warm welcome back from their people, but not a soul was seen, the entire downtown area was a ghost town. They only saw one or two stragglers digging through the debris, perhaps looking for food. They quickly hid however the moment they saw the hummer making it's way down the street.

"Alright Fox, turn here. We ain't going much further that way anyhow." Falco said.

And he was right, the road ahead was completely blocked off by twisted metal and steel rising out of a massive pile of broken concrete slabs. An entire collapsed office tower was blocking the road.

Fox made the turn, and how their were on their way to their objective. Although none of them would ever admit it, they were a little nervous. It was almost unreal; whole situation. It was only but a couple of hours ago they were landing the Great Fox. Now they were already in the middle of another contract.

"Look! You can see the police up ahead! We are almost there." Peppy pointed out.

A bout a mile down the road the small fleet of police units could be seen.

Fox saw an abandon gas station and pulled off the road.

"What, they didn't fill up the tank?" Falco said leaning over to get a look at the fuel gauge.

Fox shoved Falco away, "No wise guy, I think we need to go over this before we drive down there, and we should touch base with Slippy."

"Alright, sounds good. So McCloud, _what's the plan._"

Fox opened the driver door and hopped out.

"Shit, we walking from here?" Falco asked scratching his head.

Fox poked his head back in the hummer, "I just wanna see what equipment we got."

Peppy exited the vehicle as well to see what the military loaded these transports up with. Fox popped open the rear hatch of the truck, and saw four rifle cases and two duffel bags. Fox slid one of the cases towards him and opened it up. It was a plasma sniper rifle.

Fox let out a whistle. "Nice. Falco, come take a look."

"Alright fine, let's make it quick, I hate getting my feathers all wet." Falco jumped out and joined his team.

"Oh freakin' sweet! Dibs!" Falco shoved Fox to the side, and pulled out the rifle. "I had long range rifle training back in day, so it might be best if you let a pro handle this bad boy.

They searched through the other cases and found two military issue blasters with extended life laser batteries, a pair of plasma rifles, and plenty of ammo.

"Okay, we got guns, what's in the bags?" Falco asked, pulling forward one black duffel bags.

He unzipped the bag and pulled out a white combat vest, "Damn this thing is heavy! Plasma proof vests aren't this thick!"

He tossed the vest over to his Captain, "Damn, you were right, this is heavy!" Fox said.

"Let's call Slip, let's see if he can give us any info." Peppy suggested.

Fox nodded in agreement and pressed a small button on his ear piece, "Slippy, this is Fox, come in."

There was a moment of static then the Frogs voice broke through, "Hey Fox, what's up?"

"You find anything out?" Fox looked around, "And where are you?"

"We're above the cloud cover Fox, the storm is too low. And yeah I have found out a few things, but not much."

"Let's hear it."

"Well, from the satellite images I found, I'm didn't see a ton of enemy movement. They rolled up with only...what from what I can tell, a couple of black vans, around the back. Then only three figures emerged from one of the Vans and walked around the hospital to the front. That has to be Magnus. Then about, ten minutes later, only two figures left the hospital. Then the police showed up, and are now having a stand off with a lone figure, I'm guessing that's Magnus."

"Damn, that's pretty bold." Peppy added as he listened in.

"Two more things Fox. Listing to the police chatter over the their radios, I sounds like Magnus has killed two officers inside the building."

"Damn." Fox said under his breath. "And the other thing Slippy?"

"Well, I think I'm reading this right...According to Richards military brief, it says Magnus and his men are using....ballistic weaponry?"

"What?" The three Star Fox members said in unison.

"Yeah. Production on those kind of weapons came to a stop nearly three hundred years ago."

"Then how...or why do they have those kind of weapons?" Fox asked.

"I don't know Fox...Maybe they are cheap to make, who knows. What I do know is a single shot can easily puncture a reflective plasma proof vest, and rip right through your body."

Falco glanced over at the vest he found earlier. It made sense now why they were so heavy. They were not standard plasma vests.

"Thanks for the info Slippy, I think we are ready now. Just keep tabs on us alright? This should go smoothly."

"Alright Fox, just be careful. Call me if you need anything." Slippy closed the channel.

"Okay Falco, Peppy. You heard him. I guess we need these vest after all. Let's gear up."

The three mercenaries took off their Star Fox uniform jackets and slipped on the vests over their under shirts. Then they threw their jackets back on and zipped them up.

"Wow this is comfortable." Falco complained. "And are we done standing in the god damn rain?!"

"Yeah, we are. Mount up team. Were going in." Fox commanded.

They loaded back into the hummer.

"Okay Fox, before you turn the key. What is the fucking plan already?" Falco demanded to know.

Before Fox could turn the ignition, he thought for a moment and then spoke, "Alright, heres the plan. We roll up at the edge of the police perimeter. Then you two stay in the hummer, in case I need you guys to move if Magnus runs. And if he does that's your chance to take him down with the plasma sniper."

"So you're going to go through with this? You're going to give yourself up?" Falco couldn't believe it.

"It's our only option. If I don't..... everyone is dead." Fox started up the truck.

He pulled back onto to the road and headed towards the hospital.

Now they were but a few minutes away. They could see the CPD helicopter circling over head.

"Hey Falco." Said Fox.

"What."

"Thanks for sticking up for me back at the base. What you said about not selling out your Captain. That really meant a lot. Makes me proud my team has my back."

Falco sighed, "Yeah, don't mention it. Just pissed me off they would treat you like that. But now, ha, here we are, still going through with it. I guess I'm okay with you selling _yourself _out. But whatever, glad I could lift you're spirits Foxie."

The vulpine cracked a smile and mumbled, "Guess you're good for something."

Falco snapped his head at Fox, "What did you say?"

"What?... Nothing..."

Falco shook his head, "What, you stealing my lines now?"

Peppy leaned forward from he back seat, "Stay sharp you guys, we're here!"

Peppy was right. Fox brought the hummer to a stop just at the edge of the police perimeter that was at the intersection of Main and 7th street.

Fox took a deep breath and turned off the trucks ignition, "Okay, let's get this over with." Fox stepped out of the hummer.

"Fox wait!" Peppy stepped out of the vehicle as well. "Fox...You don't have to do this! Come on think about it, this is all happening so fast. We don't have a solid plan, we don't know how we are going to get you out if they take you as a hostage. Be rational here Fox!"

Fox was suddenly taken back by the hare's sudden change of heart.

The vulpine let out a heavy sigh, glanced up over at the hospital, and then back at Peppy, "This isn't about me Peppy."

Fox turned away walked towards the sea of police squad cars.

Peppy shook his head, "Why do you have to be so god damn stubborn?!"

The hare opened the driver door, and climbed back into the humvee.

He watched with Falco as their Captain walked onward.

"After all he's been through, he goes off and does something like this. I just can't believe it." Peppy said rubbing his temple with his right hand.

"Well you know Fox, any chance he gets to show off, he'll take it."

Peppy slowly turned his head towards the avian, and gave him a unpleased glare.

Falco just sat there with his wings folded. He noticed Peppy's glare and did a double take at the hare, "What?"

Fox was now in the middle of the entire police squad, making his way to the center, hunched over behind the cover of the cop cars.

Other officers did double takes at the vulpine passed by.

He finally reached the middle of the perimeter, and got behind cover with another leopard officer that was aiming his blaster over the hood towards the hospital.

"Who's in charge here?" Fox asked.

The officer glanced at Fox, "That's me, Deputy Chief Shawn Saranos, at your service. You from the military? Where's the rest of your men?"

"I'm Captain Fox McCloud of Star Fox, I'm here to end this stand off." Fox peered over the cop car and saw a lone figure dressed in black standing in front of the hospital, "Is that Magnus?"

The Chief couldn't believe his ears, "Shit you're Fox McCloud? Ha! Now _that's _back up. It's an honor sir, damn fine work you did ending the Lylat war. I can't believe you're already back on the field. And to answer the question, yeah, that is. The military gave us some rough details and told us to hold our fire and wait for them to show up. We can't shoot anyway, because of everyone inside, someone would get hit by the cross fire. So what are the orders, Captain?"

"Magnus wants me, because I killed Andross. Once he gets what he wants, everyone gets to go home."

"You sure about that? You are just gonna give yourself up? Damn, I wish my men were half as noble as you, hell I wish I was."

Fox didn't reply to that, "Well, let's get this over with. I'm going to get everyone out of there, be ready."

The Deputy Chief nodded his head, "Alright, we got your back though. You want any of my boys to go with you?"

"No, that won't work. I gotta do this alone."

The vulpine stood, as the rain was still lightly falling. He could see the dark figure waiting for his prize under the light of the circling helicopter.

The Chief stood and placed his hand on Fox's shoulder, "Good luck son, if you get the chance, pop this dirt bag in the head will ya? I heard about his reputation."

Fox walked on without a word towards the building.

Towards Magnus.

The ape grew closer and closer as he walked on. The pain in his ribcage started to act up, his pain pills he took before they landed were beginning to wear off, but he walked on without a sign of weakness.

It was pretty amazing how fast things moved along today. Fox even wondered to himself if it was really worth it doing it this way. Maybe he should have rode along with Richards and his Squad. Maybe they did have plan to save his tail and take down Magnus. But no, Fox made his statement already and there was no going back. This was something he had to do himself. If he was going to do this, it would be on his own terms.

The ape saw Fox approaching him now, a smile crept over his face; he knew who he was.

"Well, well! For it is he, the Hero of Lylat. The son of the legendary James McCloud! I knew you would would arrive in due time." Magnus said as the vulpine now stood before him.

"Alright Magnus, you got what you asked for, now let these people go!" Said the fox.

"Oh Fox, do be patient! He still have but.." Magnus looked at his watch, "An hour or so until the main event were to happen. I am a man of my word Fox, the bombs will be deactivated, these people will be spared. Now come! Let's step inside, this rain has overstayed it's welcome."

Fox had to comply, he didn't want to anger the ape; who knows what he would do. They stepped into the hospital waiting room that was still jam-packed with Cornerian citizens.

When they saw Fox, they knew who he was the moment he walked in. Eyes grew wide, children pointed with awe, and others felt that they were saved. Fox McCloud would save them all, like he did before, but one week ago.

Fox and Magnus now stood in the middle off the room, the crowd circled around them; looking on. Fox noticed the two lifeless bodies of the police officers upon the floor. Fox could only pray he wouldn't end up like them.

"Ladies, and Gentlemen." Magnus began, "I present to you, the great hero of the Lylat system...Fox McCloud. Some...of you may look at this man, and see a savior. An individual that delivered you from a most unpleasant fate of suffering and death. You might see the embodiment of sacrifice! He gave everything he had to save his home, this entire system. He nearly gave his own life. Even if his intentions were motivated mostly by revenge and no one here could find fault in his actions to killthe late Dr. Andross."

The mad ape's face grew very serious with anger as he turned towards the vulpine and locked eye's with him. "Yes, you may see a hero, but I see something very different. I see a murderer. I see someone who brought a life to an end that could have changed this entire system for the better. Andross had such plans for the Lylat system, but before any of them could be fully realized, this...this mercenary scum, crawls from the depths of hell, only to end the life of the most brilliant man the Lylat system would ever know."

Fox couldn't take anymore of this nonsense, "What? All he wanted was destroy the Lylat System! He was mad with power! Hundreds of thousands of people are dead because of him!"

"Sacrifices must be made in the name of science! And he didn't want to destroy this system! Oh no, not at all. In fact he was trying to save it! He was trying to give it new life, a new hope to start over."

"Save it? From what? Peace and prosperity?" Fox asked, with sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh you are hilarious Fox, and no....He was trying to save it from you...From all of you. You see thousands of years ago, the apes ruled this Planet. But as time when on, and evolution took it's course, it was only a matter of time until every other species was fighting to the death to see who would rule the land. War was waged for centuries, in such primitive ways. You did however manage to get along with one another in time. You built cites, traveled to the ends of our system exploring new planets to colonize. But in time, you ruined this planet and the others with your presence. You are but parasites consuming every resource imaginable faster and faster everyday. There is no balance, just consumption. If we didn't do something soon, there would have been nothing left to save."

Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing, "So you literally wipe out entire planets in order to save them? Still sounds like the work of a madman to me."

"You will never understand. I could speak for hours, and none of it would penetrate your thick empty skulls. This has to be done, we must return Corneria and the rest of the planets back to their natural state! It's what Andross had envisioned for ages. He came so close to fully realizing his dream. He almost took back what was rightfully ours....but you! YOU!"

Magnus pulled another pistol from his black trench coat and pointed it at Fox, "YOU had to come along, and _fuck _everything up! We were so close....." Magnus let out a maniacal laugh.

The gun in his hand was shaking, he was over come with anger.

"You are the evil one! You are the true threat to all of Lylat. And it is my duty to rid this system of a demon such as you."

Fox stood his ground, he wasn't going to let this mad ape scare him with his insane rant.

"So everyone take one final look at your beloved _hero, _because today, he finally gets what he really deserves."

Fox's fur stood on end. He knew exactly what that meant.

Time slowed down, he saw people cringing up, preparing for the worst. Fathers and mothers shielding their children's eyes, and others with shocked looks of disbelief on their faces. Then he looked at Magnus. The ape had a sickening smile on his face as he gripped his weapon.

Fox closed his eye's.

A thunderous boom rang out. And Fox felt a force like he had never felt before slam into his chest.

He stumbled backwards coughing and sputtering blood.

The sound of the copper shell bouncing of the floor was heard, and very vividly.

Magnus pulled the trigger two more times sending two more round drilling into Fox's chest.

The vulpine didn't scream nor even let out a slight yelp of pain as he went down.

The onlookers let out cries of sympathy and fear. They couldn't believe their hero had be slain right before their eyes.

Fox now laid on the cold floor on his side; a lifeless heap.

"Good by Fox McCloud. Your time has come." Magnus holstered his weapon and stepped over Fox's body towards the hospital doors.

The ape could hear the police chatter through his ear piece, they knew that had happened. Magnus watched as they assembled together, readying their weapons, there were going to move in.

"_Shots fired! Fox McCloud is down! I repeat, shots fired and Fox McCloud is down! We gotta move in now and take this guy! We can't wait any longer!"_

Magnus placed two fingers on his ear piece, "Blow the charges. We are done here."

A faint rumble could be heard, the lights flickered in the hospital, and what happened next no one was expecting.

The entire street parallel to the hospital that was covered in police units erupted. A tower of smoke and fire exploded through the concrete sending the cop cars flying through the air like toys. They tried to run, but with in moments another explosion ripped through the ground, sending flaming wreckage and concrete flying in every direction. Every two seconds another explosion would occur. One to the left and right of the original blast. They lined the sewers with explosives and there was no escape.

Magnus shielded his face as the explosion's shockwave blew out the windows of all the cars littered in front of the building, as well as the hospital's large glass window panes. About five more explosions went off, nearly sinking a blocks worth of road. Then it was over, and the blasts came to a stop.

Magnus lowered his arm from his face. There was nothing left. The entire street sunk into the ground. It swallowed nearly every CPD unit that was on the scene. They were all dead. Pillars of thick black smoke rose from the newly formed crater the explosives created.

The lights in the hospital went dark, the blast must have severed the underground power lines. The only source of light now was the orange glow of the flames from the street as the sun had nearly set in the west.

Magnus turned to the terrified crowd behind him. He could hear such sorrowful cries from the people as they trembled in fear. The ground was now covered in broken glass and debris from the explosion.

The ape looked down, and saw the body of Fox McCloud right where he left it before; laying lifeless on the floor.

Magnus cleared his throat and straightened his coat, "Well I do believe I have over stayed my welcome. So as I promised, you may all return home now, safe and sound. Until next time, I bid you farewell."

Magnus turned away and walked out the hospital's now shattered doors, "All hell can't stop us now."

Everyone was in shock, they just couldn't except what events had unfolded on this day. Their hero was dead, a new threat now looms over their home planet, and they were forced to witness a slaughtering of hundreds of Coneria officers.

Fox's body laid dormant upon the glass covered floor. A few brave souls gathered around him, their heads hung low as tears slid from their eyes. They knew he didn't deserve to die like this. They couldn't help feel guilty about the whole ordeal. He died to save them, he died a hero's death. It was the most selfless thing anyone had ever witnessed.

They mourned over their loss.

Who would save them now?

"Move please, outta the way!" A tiny fox kit pushed his way through the small group of people surrounding the fallen vulpine.

He finally made his way through, and got down on his knees next to Fox. He had tears in eyes as he looked over his dead hero, he just didn't understand what had happened, but he knew it was bad and he was scared to death. He knew Fox was the only one who would stand up to those horrid apes.

"Please mister Fox, please." The small kit shook his arm trying to revive him, "Please you have to wake up! Please..."

The little fox broke into a panicked sob. "You can't be dead! You can't! Please wake up.."

The kits mother keeled down close to the brokenhearted cub, and scooped him up in her arms. He just held him close as he sobbed into her chest.

He looked over at Fox once more with tear soaked eyes. "Who will save us now?" Then he hid is face away once more with his ears folded backwards.

Fox McCloud, the hero of Lylat...

Was dead.

Or so they thought....

Fox's eyes slid open, and he left out a groan of pain.

The crowd of individuals surrounding Fox gasped and stepped back in surprise.

The little kit snapped his head around, his ears pointed up in curiosity.

Fox coughed and wheezed as he rolled over on his stomach on to his hands and knees.

They all thought he was dead, they saw him get shot right in the chest with that ape's unconventional weapon.

The room was totally in shock. Hundreds of mouths hung open as the vulpine rose from the dead.

Fox staggered to his feet holding one arm over his chest and breathed through clenched teeth. People kept stepping backwards away from him as he fought to his feet.

He looked around the room, everyone single set of eyes was on him.

Fox looked down at this chest and saw three holes in his Star Fox jacket. He unzipped it to reveal his savior, his bullet proof vest. He managed to pull out one of the bullets from his vest, and then held it up in front of his face to examine it. It was amazing how such a small object could cause such an impact.

He tossed it on the floor.

Fox glanced up and saw the small kit staring at him with wide eyes.

The little fox fought out of his mothers embrace and scurried over to the older vulpine. He was now at Fox's feet and stared up at his hero in awe.

"You...you're not dead?" The kit stuttered out nervously.

Fox just smiled and shook his head, "Far from it kid."

"FOX! YOU AIN'T DEAD!" A familiar voice yelled from behind the vulpine.

Fox whipped his head around and saw Falco and Peppy standing in the front doorway.

They looked like they had both been through hell. They had small cuts and gashes scattered about their uniforms, and Falco's jacket looked like it was singed from fire.

Falco and Peppy, with plasma rifles in hand ran up to Fox and looked him over.

"We heard the police chatter, they said you got hit, bad. We thought you were a goner Fox. Then shit just started fucking exploding. We almost didn't make it ourselves...Especially gramps." He motioned his head at Peppy,"But lucky for him I was willing to risk my hide to save his sorry ass." Falco pointed at the part of his uniform jacket that was singed.

"So you alright Fox? What happened?" Peppy asked.

"Well, from what I can tell." Fox opened up his jacket and showed his two team members the bullet holes in his vest, "Magnus doesn't really like me much."

"Shit man, he freakin shot you?" Falco replied.

"Yeah, and whatever the hell kinda gun he had, really packed a punch. It felt like someone was hitting me in the chest with a sledgehammer."

"Well, good thing you came prepared Fox." Peppy added.

Fox let out a heavy breath through his teeth and clenched his eyes shut as held his chest in pain.

Falco placed a wing on Fox's back, and hunched over with him, trying to console his Captain, "You okay Fox? I think you should get some help man. Shit, if your ribs weren't broken before, they sure are now."

Fox sucked in his breath and stood up straight, "No....I'm fine. Besides, we still got a contract to complete." Fox had signs of anger in his voice.

"Damn, no stopping you." Falco shrugged.

Peppy spoke up, "Come on Fox, be reasonable here, I don't want you getting killed over this! You need some medical attention already!"

Fox just started walking towards the exit, ignoring the hare.

As he walked, glass could be heard breaking underfoot. He could see the flames outside the hospital still burning what was left from the explosions. The smoke rose into the air choking out what sunlight was left, it was nearly night fall anyway.

Fox stepped outside, out into the still lightly falling rain. He could hear thunder out in the distance. This storm was far from over. He saw the sky flash. It reminded him of being on Venom, fighting for his life in the merciless storm.

The most terrifying truth of this whole event was Fox's fight was far from over. He couldn't help feel responsible for the whole thing. That all didn't matter anymore though, everything was black and white for Fox in his world again.

He pulls the trigger.

He gets paid.

There was one thing that was different this time however. They already had the money, so all bets were off.

Fox looked down at this feet; something caught his eye. It was a black pistol, the one Magnus dropped when he had the 1st standoff with the police.

He picked it up and examined it. Maybe Slippy could look up schematics on these weapons. Looked simple enough, just like a blaster; point and shoot. These weapons were entirely different animals however, and much more deadly.

Fox placed his paw on the top of the weapon and gave it a pull. The top of it slid backwards and the vulpine could see a bullet resting inside of some sort of chamber. He let it go and it swiftly bolted forward and locked into place.

Falco emerged from the hospital and joined his leader, "So we going after this guy? The army says they want him alive."

The smells of smoke and ash passed through Fox's snout as he looked back up at the scattered, flaming wreckage.

Fox holstered the weapon inside his jacket, "Fuck the army."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Part 2 will be here in one week. **


	8. Chapter 7, part 2

**Hey everyone! Well I know I said this would be a 3 part series, but I have decided to make it just a 2 part. This 2nd entry is a little bit longer but has a ton more action. **

**I would like to give a _serious _shout out to _Snake Of The Rose_ for editing this behemoth. You freaking rock bro. **

**So, I hope you enjoy the final installment of Chapter 7. **

**This ones for the fans.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Hero of war**

**Part Two**

"_The car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel  
And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides  
And a dark wind blows  
The government is corrupt  
And we're on so many drugs  
With the radio on and the curtains drawn_

_We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine  
And the machine is bleeding to death_

_The sun has fallen down  
And the billboards are all leering  
And the flags are all dead at the top of their poles_

_It went like this:_

_The buildings tumbled in on themselves  
Mothers clutching babies picked through the rubble  
And pulled out their hair_

_The skyline was beautiful on fire  
All twisted metal stretching upwards  
Everything washed in a thin orange haze_

_I said: "kiss me, you're beautiful -  
these are truly the last days"_

_You grabbed my hand and we fell into it  
like a daydream or a fever_

_We woke up one morning and fell a little further down -  
for sure it's the valley of death_

_I open up my wallet_

_And it's full of blood." _

_

* * *

  
_

"_Oh my god...I can't believe that just happened...Dispatch, this is chopper 312....The whole...Christ, the whole fucking street on the north side of the hospital just...It exploded! We lost everyone! No one is responding. I can't see anything down there! We need everyone you can get down here, NOW." _

"_....Ten-four chopper 312, we have dispatched the military units near by. They are on their way, ETA ten minutes" _

"_Okay, ten-four. God damn....did you see that?" _

"_What is your status 312?........312?" _

"_We're fine....We're okay. Wait....look! Down there! Follow those vans! That has to be them! Dispatch, we are in pursuit of a small group of what looks like three black vans. They are headed uptown, going north on Jade Ave. Please send units to intercept, we gotta take this guy down!" _

"_312, we don't have anyone left. Our numbers are scarce enough, I'm sorry but you are on your own. Just keep perusing, until we can get some military assistance. Over." _

"_God damn you have to be fucking kidding me....Alright...10-4. Suspects are headed into the uptown commercial area. All the buildings here are about sixty stories, if not higher. We will try to keep track of them best we can." _

"_10-4...Keep us posted, and we will keep you posted." _

"_Roger that..... Watch the buildings! We don't want to clip the rotor!....Okay wait...looks like they are coming to a stop...OH SHIT!! LOOK OUT!! GOD DAMMIT!! Where did that come from?! What was that a fucking rocket? Dispatch we are under attack!! We...AAAHH! WE ARE HIT!! WE LOST THE TAIL ROTOR! WERE GOING DOWN!! WE ARE.....SHIT WE'RE GONNA HIT THE BUILD..." _

"_312? Chopper 312 please respond!.....All units....Chopper 312 is down...Any available unit, please respond...Anyone! Please respond!" _

--

--

Two figures sat with their backs against an old car that was parked sideways in the middle of a ruined metropolis street.

They kept their heads low, held their plasma rifles close to their chests, and they knew they could be inches away from certain death.

The rain poured from the sky, soaking the post apocalyptic streets of the downtown area of Corneria City.

Nightfall was nearly upon them, as only the very top of the sun could be seen as it sunk below the horizon. Day light was nearly dead, and the blackness of night was slowly creeping over the city; claiming the land for itself.

The sky lit up with a blinding white flash, illuminating the entire city, and piercing the cracks and shattered windows of the abandon buildings with light.

Soon after, thunder exploded from the heavens with a force so powerful it rattled the foundations of the monolithic ruins of the city. It also shook the bones of the two unfortunate souls that happened to be stranded in the middle of it all.

Those two individuals were none other that Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi.

The two held their position with their backs against the abandon car and they didn't dare move. They both slouched low, keeping their heads below the windows of their makeshift cover.

Adjacent to where they resided was their transportation, an old pickup truck a civilian back at the hospital let them commandeer in order to pursue Magnus. It was a fine vehicle indeed. Sturdy, could handle the war torn streets of the city, and could hold their few bags of supplies they managed to salvage from the wreckage of their hummer that was destroyed in the hospital bombings.

Now it was parked across from them with the engine still running, and a massive hole punched right in the middle of the windshield.

Slippy gave Fox some intel on where Magnus and his men were hiding out, before Fox and Falco set off. It was the 1st Corneria Bank Tower. A massive seventy-story sky scraper that was one of the tallest buildings in the downtown area. Slippy also recommended that they took an alternate route to their destination. Hitting the building head on would most likely throw them right into a trap. It made sense tactically speaking, so with Slippy's aid, they planned their route through the narrow back streets of the city.

They didn't count on snipers though.

Now they were pinned down. It was a miracle the sniper didn't pick one of them off as they drove down the street. Not to mention the abandon car in the road they had for cover was indeed luckily placed in their favor.

It caught them by total surprise. Fortunate for them, they were trained soldiers and knew how to react. The shot broke through their windshield, and within seconds Fox slammed on the breaks and they bailed out into the street, running for cover.

Now they were trapped and had to come up with a plan, because as far as they could tell, no help was coming anytime soon.

Falco held is rifle close. He feathers were soaked, and he was almost shivering from the cold.

He looked over at Fox, who almost seemed to be zoning out of the situation; his face was totally blank.

"Fox! You alright? Stay with me man!" Falco called out over the roar of the pouring rain.

Fox slowly swiveled his head towards the avian, "I'm...I'm fine....I'm alright..I'm good."

Falco just nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Man, that is one fucking huge hole he punched in the windshield. He isn't using a plasma sniper rifle for sure. Did you see where it came from?"

Fox shook his head, "No...The rain is to heavy, I couldn't see anything."

"Fuck. Alright, now what do we do?"

Fox sat in silence.

"FOX!" Falco yelled.

"I'M THINKING!" Fox yelled back. "We should be safe here for now. The trucks headlights will keep him from getting a clear shot at us. I'm sure he's using night vision or something."

"Well, we gotta move, and soon. He might have called for back up and they might be cutting through the buildings to flank us!"

Suddenly a thunderous boom cut through the cold air.

It wasn't thunder.

One of the headlights shattered and died.

"OH SHIT!" Falco yelled out.

Soon after, the other was shot out as well.

"Okay yeah, he's definitely using night vision. Now we are gonna be plain as day if we move," said Fox. "Stay below the windows."

"Yeah, no shit." Falco shot back.

They looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation, but didn't see anything that could help them. They were out in the middle of the street. If they tried to run for one of many buildings that lined the street they would most likely be picked off before they made it to shelter. There were other abandon cars littered throughout the streets but they were all in the wrong place.

"Fox!"

The vulpine looked eyes with his long time friend. He could see the fear in Falco's eyes.

"Fox, we got nowhere to go man. We have no options. We move, we're dead." Falco hung his head low and shook it in disbelief. "We are freaking_ dead_ Fox."

Fox had nothing to say to that in return. Falco was right.

Falco continued, "Man, Peppy was right, we were getting in over our heads here. No wonder he didn't come with us. Fox we should have waited for help; we can't do this on our own. There is just no way, we can get out of this, man we are so..."

"FALCO SHUT UP!" Fox barked.

Falco's beak clasped shut, and his eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Yeah, I screwed up, I'm sorry! But now I don't need you losing hope on me now. What has gotten into you?! I have never seen you like this!"

"Sorry Fox, I'm just keeping it real, shit just ain't going right for us."

"Hey." Fox placed his hand on Falco's shoulder. "I will get us out of this. But only if you stop bitching already."

They only way to get Falco back in the game was to piss him off, and Fox knew this.

Falco scrunched his brow, "Hey screw you buddy! And I'm not bitching I'm just.."

The car window above Fox's head exploded, showering the vulpine in bits of shattered glass. Fox fell over on his side, holding one hand over his left ear.

"FOX!! You okay?" Falco cried out.

Fox rolled up against the car once more. This time he sat even lower from the window.

The vulpine lifted is hand from his ear, and Falco could see the very tip of it was singed off.

"That....was close." Fox stammered out. "He's just taking shots; he's trying to flush us out."

Another shot was fired, this time punching right through the center of the car and exiting between Falco and Fox. The two nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Did you see that?! It punched right through! We gotta get out of here Fox; it's only a matter of time before he takes one of us." Falco yelled over the storm.

Fox put two fingers against his communication piece in his right ear, "SLIPPY WE GOT A PROBLEM!"

Slippy's startled voice broke through the static, "_WAH! Uhh, Fox? What's wrong_?"

"An enemy sniper has us pinned down out in the streets and we are out of options! The rifle he's using isn't energy based and it's punching right through our cover! Help us out here Slippy!"

Up on the Great Fox, Slippy dug through many displays on his computer terminal that displayed all sorts of field information.

"_Okay Fox, I'm thermally scanning the area where you are...._"

One of Slippy's monitors showed the city's layout and had icons that easily pinpointed Fox and Falco, due to the tracking devices implanted under their skin. A thermal scan ran over the city image, and light up another figure about one mile from their position. Slippy used a touch pad to manipulate the image of the city bringing it to ground level, and then setting it at a view parallel with the horizon.

"Fox! I think I see him, about a mile down the road, on top of what has to be some sort of office complex. It's a ten story building on the left side of the street. Can you guys see it?"

Falco slapped his forehead, "Yeah Slip, I would take a look and everything, but the whole, getting my head blown off my shoulders thing, might _ruin_ my look."

"_Oh...right! Uh....haha. Sorry guys_."

"Whatever Slippy, can you give us some useful information?" Falco asked.

"Yeah, can you find anything out about the kind of weapons Magnus' men are using? Any schematics? Anything?" Fox added.

There was a moment of silence as the frog dug through any information he could find in the classified army files.

"_What from what I can find, there's only a few documents on these ballistic weapons they have been seen using_." Slippy reported.

"Okay, anything on long range weapons?" Fox asked.

"_Ummmmm…oh! This looks like it could be it possibly. The M82...50 Caliber sniper rifle. Shoots a 50 caliber projectile at two thousand and 99 feet per second, and can travel one thousand eight hundred and fifty meters. This, bullet it fires can pretty much punch through anything._"

The two Star Fox members down on the ground looked at the gaping hole in the middle of the car.

"Yeah, we know," said Falco.

Suddenly another blast was heard and another hole was punched through the vehicle. This time it pierced the car's gas tank, causing it to leak fuel upon the ground.

"SHIT! OKAY SLIPPY! I DON'T CARE HOW FAR IT CAN KILL ME FROM! GIVE US SOMETHING USEFUL!" Falco screamed into his ear piece.

Slippy sat in his captain's chair with in the Great Fox, holding his ear piece away from his head.

He slipped the com device back onto his ear, "_I....I don't know what else I could tell you that would help. Uhh, it has a night vision scope, uhhh…has a seven round clip...and..._"

"Wait! Slippy! How many rounds?" Fox interrupted.

"_Uhh, seven?_"

Fox counted the shots. One in their windshield, two in their headlights, and three through the car they were using for cover.

Fox turned to Falco, "He's got one more round before he has to reload. We have to get him to fire one round before he just decides to change his clip."

Falco's eyes darted around in thought, "What if he already did? What if the reports are wrong? What if it's a ten round clip? Or five, and he already has a fresh one?"

"Well unfortunately, there's only one way to find out." Fox activated his com piece. "Slippy, we'll keep you posted, we are going to move soon. Fox out."

"Okay Fox, how do we get him to fire?"

Fox looked over his shoulder and saw an old abandon department store on the left side of the street. It was about forty feet away, and it was their only chance.

Fox let out a sigh, "We run for it, and hope he's a terrible shot."

Falco let out a laugh of disbelief, "Wuh...what? _THAT'S_ your _PLAN?! _ You gotta be kidding me!"

"We run for it, he shoots, hopefully misses, and that will give us time to make it to safety _if _he has to reload. You got any better ideas?" Fox snapped.

The avian paused, "No, I don't. So lead the way captain." Falco gave a sarcastic salute.

"Besides, the odds are against him in this weather. I'll be impressed if he hits one of us."

They both made their way to the very end of the car crouched down as low as they could.

"Okay, you ready?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, I'm always ready to cheat death. Man, I hope he shoots _you_."

"....Thanks." Fox rolled his eyes. "Alright, on three..."

Falco nodded his head.

Fox began the count down, "One...."

Their hearts started to race, this was it.

"Two."

This was the deciding moment for the entire mission. They were either about to make progress, or die trying.

"THREE!!"

They ran like hell.

Out in the open, they became plain as day on the other end of the snipers night vision scope. They revealed themselves to the shooter that resided within the top floor of a distant building.

"GO GO GO!" Fox yelled as they both ran for the building with their heads tucked low.

They were nearly there, they were almost safe.

The sniper lined up his shot, and readied his trigger finger.

Fox turned his head for the final time; he could faintly see the building Slippy described through the fog.

A flash of lighting painted a white haze over the snipers scope just as he pulled the trigger.

It threw off is aim, just enough.

Fox saw the orange and red muzzle flash from one of the buildings top floor windows out of the corner of his eye.

The bullet screamed through the dead, cold air towards its target.

The two Star Fox members held their breath, waiting for the fatal blow to come. But before they could think any further, the bullet missed its mark.

A massive chunk of one of many concrete pillars that were part of the buildings outer foundation exploded nearly a split second after Fox passed it.

The vulpine and avian shielded their faces from the flying debris as they sprinted towards their safe haven.

Fox and Falco made it up onto the sidewalk, ran full bore, and smashed through the department stores' large front window.

They both tumbled to the ground in a shower of shattered glass, but within moments they jumped to their feet with their plasma rifles drawn; they had to be ready for anything.

The store was nearly pitch black inside. They activated the flashlights mounted on the end of their weapons, and took a look around.

There was nothing hiding in the blackness of the abandon store. The ground was covered with dust and chucks of broken ceiling tiles. Spiderwebs covered the old clothing racks that held nothing but forgotten, moth ridden apparel.

"Clear?" Fox routinely asked.

"Clear." Falco replied.

They lowered their weapons, let out a sigh of relief, and took a moment to catch their breath.

The vulpine smiled, "We made it. I can't believe we made it."

Falco, still trying to catch his breath, placed a wing on Fox's shoulder, "You.....are one, _lucky_.... son of a bitch. If we make it out of this, we are going gambling."

Fox just laughed, and the two bumped fists in celebration.

"_Fox! Fox! You guy's alright?!_" It was Slippy.

Fox activated his ear piece, "Yeah Slip! We made it! We're okay. We were able to get inside a nearby...."

"_Fox, sorry to cut you off, but it looks like that sniper is getting ready to move!_" Slippy reported.

Fox looked up at Falco with a concerned look.

"We gotta take that guy or we're gonna have a repeat of what just happened out there," said Falco.

Fox nodded his head, if they didn't catch this sniper, this would probably turn out to be a long night.

"Slippy, we are going to try to catch up to that sniper. How do we get there!?" Fox said with a commanding voice.

There was a brief pause.

"_Back alley! Behind the building you are in right now. It's a road used for deliveries and such and runs for about five blocks worth! That's your best bet! I'll keep watch on you guy's and give you directions as you go. The building is about a mile away_."

"Thanks Slippy. Fox out... Alright Falco, ready for that three minute mile?"

"Hell ya, with this soaking wet gear on, should be a snap." Falco replied.

"Alright, follow my lead. Let's move." Fox ordered.

With rifles up they carefully made their way through the darkness. They passed through the back storage room and set their sights on a large metal door that had an old busted exit sign above it.

Fox shot off two rounds of his plasma rifle at the door's hinges which made them red hot. The vulpine gave the door a swift kick and it broke free revealing the rained soaked back ally. The door fell to the ground as Fox and Falco emerged from the old store. They checked their corners and then sprinted full speed down the ally.

Their military boots were heavy with water as they trudged along the cracked concrete. Lighting flashed in the sky illuminating the narrow road ahead.

Then, within seconds, thunder exploded from the heavens. The storm was right on top of them.

They paced their breathing as they ran through the pouring rain holding their rifles close to their chest. Catching this sniper was a top priority. If they didn't, it would be another game of cat and mouse, and they didn't have time for that. They had to take this guy down, maybe even get some information out of him.

The back alley came to an end, at least for this block. They came to a stop, and checked their corners once more, looking left and right making sure they were running into a trap. Truth was, it was almost nightfall, and with the fog and rain, they couldn't really see anything.

Fox gave Falco a hand signal to move forward to cross the street before them. They stayed below the cover of the abundance of abandoned cars left out in the street. They swiftly made their way to the continuation of the back ally on the other side of the road. Once more they were in a full sprint, treading over broken concrete and all sorts of garbage and debris.

"Man, they really need to clean up this dump." Falco said through his heavy breathing.

Fox didn't reply. There was no time for small talk. They ran on for a minute or two.

Slippy lit up the com channel again, "_Okay Fox, you are more than halfway there. You have to cross over one more street, and then it should be the 3__rd__ building on the right. You can't miss it._"

"Thanks Slip, our friend still in the building?" Fox asked.

"_From what I can see, yeah, he is. Just ran another thermal scan, he's definitely there, but he's on the move. Probably going down the stairwell._"

"Roger, we are about to cross the final street. Keep an eye on us Slippy."

"_Will do Fox, please be careful! You remember how these apes are!_"

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. And Slippy?"

"_Fox?_"

"Thanks...Thanks for doing this." Fox closed the com channel.

"Hey Fox, where the hell is my thanks?!" Falco yelled.

"You'll get it when we take this guy! Now keep going, we're almost there!"

They ventured across the final street separating the clusters of buildings.

Almost there.

Funneling back into the next ally, they saw a dark figure explode out of the back door of one of the many office complexes about fifty feet away.

"Shit! There he is!" Falco reported.

It was the sniper from before. The large rifle slung over his back made it obvious.

Their target fled.

"He's running for it!" Fox yelled. "We _can NOT _lose him!"

The cold from the rain, the heaviness of their soaked uniforms and all other odds that were against them faded away. Their basic soldier instincts kicked in as they bared their teeth, determined to catch their prey.

As Fox and Falco gained on him, the sniper rounded a corner into another intersecting ally way.

Within seconds the two followed their targets lead.

"Watch it. Watch it!" Fox caution his team mate.

It would be easy for this sniper to catch them off guard being caught up in the heat of the chase.

They safely turned the corner, finding the sniper still on the run, and continued their pursuit.

Up ahead they saw the sniper vault off an old dumpster and grab on to an extended service ladder on the backside of one of the buildings.

They had no choice.

Within a few moments Fox followed suit. He slung his rifle over his back and climbed the dumpster.

The sniper was nearly to the top of the six story climb.

"Watch the roof; don't follow until I reach the top." Fox ordered.

"You got it."

Fox jumped for it. He hit the ladder wasn't parallel to the dumpster, which made Fox's landing a little difficult. The vulpine made the leap and grabbed hold of the bars as his body swung with the momentum, and then slammed into the ladder. He found his footing and began his ascent.

He looked up and saw the sniper climbing over the top of the building onto the roof.

Fox climbed as fast as he could, now passing through a metal shell that covered half of the ladder.

Falco anxiously watch his Captain make the climb, he hated having to wait, "HURRY IT UP FOXIE!"

Fox finally made it to the top of the building on to the roof. The sniper was sprinting across it as fast his feet could carry him.

Before Fox could even turn, he heard the slam of Falco jumping onto the ladder.

The vulpine couldn't wait, he might lose the target. He gave chase once more.

The Magnus troop made it to the end of the building top and jumped the gap to another rooftop below.

His bound to the other building was a bit short. The snipers chest slammed right into the side of the brick structure, knocking the wind out of him. With his arms wrapped over the ledge of the building to he hoisted himself up with all his strength.

He staggered to his feet, and took a few steps before he heard the sound of another pair of boots making a perfect landing behind him.

He knew he was caught.

The sniper reached into his black trench coat, and pulled a pistol as he turned towards his pursuer.

But before he could even reach his side arm, Fox slammed right into him. The impact of the blow lifted the Magnus troop off the ground. Then with Fox on top of him, they came crashing down, right through a sky light window.

The window shattered into a thousand pieces as they fell through it.

The two fell about ten feet, down into a business conference room.

Their landing wasn't very smooth either.

The song of shatter glass rang out once more as two soldiers smashed through a large glass conference table.

The sniper landed flat on his back, with Fox right on top of him. The weight of the vulpine nearly caved in his chest.

Fox rolled of the snipers body, on to his back. He coughed and gasped for air as pain shoot through his body from the impact. Lucky for him the sniper broke is fall, but he already did have some fractured ribs from his crash one week ago, so the pain was pretty intense.

Fox let out a moan of agony. His left shoulder was killing him. He took a glance at it and saw it was a bit out of place. Fox had dislocated his shoulder from the fall. Perhaps he clipped it on the iron frame of the table during impact.

Suddenly light shined down upon Fox from above.

"Fox! You alright?!" It was Falco.

"Ye...Yeah..." Fox let out a few heavy coughs. "I'm alright....I think."

Falco guided the light beaming from the end of his rifle over to the other body in the room below.

"Oh shit, _he _ain't alright. That's for sure." Falco said.

Fox turned his head and saw a sickening sight.

The sniper was quite dead.

He was an ape, but more slender and agile looking that the other brutes that have come up against. His eyes were dead and empty, and a pool of blood formed under his head.

"I'll be right down Fox, take it easy. There's a roof access door over here," said Falco.

Fox didn't respond; he was too busy beating himself up in his mind for making such a careless move; he almost got himself killed.

The sounds of Falco's footsteps could be heard from above, making their way across. Then followed the sound of a door opening and slamming shut.

"Where you at Fox?" Falco called out.

"Over here....oh... god... oh..._shit_...." The pain in Fox's shoulder was excruciating.

Falco's flashlight flooded a nearby hallway with light. He followed the sound of Fox's voice into the conference room.

He found the vulpine trying to get to his feet.

"Whoa whoa, hold on Fox." Falco placed his rifle on the floor with the light pointed towards Fox.

Falco placed Fox's good arm over his shoulder and helped his Captain up.

The Avian looked up at the shattered window above and watched the rain fall through, soaking the glass covered floor. The wet glass glistened in the shine of Falco's flashlight.

Fox pulled his arm away from Falco and stood on his own, but stumbled a little to one side.

"You alright Fox? Shit, that was quite a fall." Falco asked with concern.

The vulpine hobbled over to a near by wall and leaned up against it. Falco shined his light on Fox and saw his left shoulder was sagging a bit. Fox dislocated his shoulder during the fall.

"Oh man...That looks like it really hurts." Falco said, with a bit of a laugh.

"It..._does._" Fox glared at the avian.

Falco approached the vulpine, placed his wing on the injured appendage, checking to see if was indeed _just _dislocated.

Fox sucked air through his teeth, trying to hold in the pain.

"Well Foxie, It ain't broke. It's just...out of place. Ready to man up?"

Fox knew what that meant.

The vulpine gave a crooked smile, "You want the honors?"

Falco laughed. "Man, I gotta do _everything _for you?" Falco tighten his grip around Fox's shoulder

"Alright Fox, on three.....One...."

"Just do it Falco."

"Aright." And with a sickening crack Falco popped Fox's shoulder back into place.

"GOD DAMN...UGH!" Pain surged through the vulpine's shoulder as he hunched over and shoved Falco away. He clenched his jaw together as hard as he could and sucked air through is teeth, trying to cope with the blinding pain.

Falco just rolled his eyes and turned away, "Come on Fox it ain't _that _bad. You could have broken your leg or something." Falco walked over to the now deceased Magnus sniper troop.

"Or you could have been smashed to death by a hundred and fifty pound fox, like this poor asshole." The avian added.

Falco keeled down next to the dead sniper and looked over his body, checking for anything that could prove useful. "Nothing personal buddy, we know you were just doing your job."

He unbuckled the strap that held the snipers rifle to his back and slipped the gun from underneath his body.

"Damn Fox, you gotta take a look at this thing." Falco looked over the rifle in awe.

The weapon was long and slender like any other plasma sniper rifle but the design was a bit primitive. It had some weight to it as well, especially in the center, where the ammo clip was placed.

Fox now stood beside Falco looking over the weapon, "Looks like we got a new toy."

"Yeah, sure does. Here, hold it for moment." Falco tossed the rifle towards his captain.

Fox caught it in but wasn't expecting the weight of the weapon. It pulled at his arms and caused his shoulder to receive a stabbing pain through it, but he did his best not to show it.

Falco shoved the frame of the table they smashed through to the side so he could search through the snipers coat.

He didn't find much. A ration of some sort, a few ammo clips for the rifle. Falco held up one the ammo clips, and pulled one of the many projectiles it was housing.

"Holy...shit," muttered Falco in amazement.

He held the five-inch 50 caliber bullet up to take a better look, and couldn't believe what he saw.

"Fox, look at this thing! Man, if one of us was hit by _this..... Jeez laweez_, this thing could probably take an arm off. Especially if it's going as fast as...well...whatever the hell Slippy said."

"I wonder where they are getting these weapons; they have been out of production for so long." Fox added.

"Well it's pretty damn obvious _why _they are using them. To be honest I can't wait to try this baby out." Falco took the rifle from Fox's paws and slung it over his back.

"Well, from how things are going, I'm sure you will get your chance." Fox cracked a smile.

Fox activated his com link, "Slippy, Fox here. We uh..." Fox looked down at the dead sniper. "We neutralized the sniper and we are going to be heading back to our transportation. We secured a weapon; it has to be the one you informed us about. I want everything you got on this weapon, how to fire it, reloading procedures, what to do if it jams. Everything."

"_You got it Fox; I'll contact you once I gather that information for ya._" Slippy replied over the radio.

"Thanks, Fox out." The vulpine gazed up at the shattered sky light, and watched the rain shower in through it. _I hope my luck doesn't run out on me._ He thought.

"We done here Foxie?" asked Falco.

Fox nodded his head, "Yeah, let's get back to the truck. And let's hope we are the only ones who know about this."

"I'm sure no one is gonna miss this guy." The avian scoffed.

--

--

Fox and Falco ventured back through the ally ways to their transportation. They found the truck just as they left it. The engine was still running, the headlights were blown out, and there was still a gaping hole right in the middle of the windshield.

It was better than nothing.

Fox rummaged through their supplies and found some medicine to ease the pain he was in. Truth be told, he was in a lot of pain. If it wasn't his ribs, or the pain in his chest every time he took a deep breath, it was his shoulder was now in a world of hurt.

They communicated with Slippy once more before continuing on with the mission. The final objective remained the same.

Magnus. The army wanted him alive, but Fox couldn't care less.

Slippy also filled them in on the sniper rifle they found, giving them everything they needed to know.

The two Star Fox members sat in the cabin of the truck, ready to push on. Fox at the wheel, and Falco in the passenger seat, his feet up against the dash board, and the new sniper rifle braced against his shoulder.

Fox put the truck in drive, and they slowly drove into the rain soaked night before them.

Water poured through the center of the windshield causing the inside of the vehicle to become more than a little damp.

"I feel like from now on, we should just shower ourselves down before a mission. I'm getting used to being soaking wet all the god-damn time." Falco complained.

Fox curled a smile, and let out a laugh under his breath, "Yeah, I hear ya."

"So Fox, I know you hate it when I ask you this, but what is the plan."

Fox was quick to reply this time. "Well, it's pretty simple. We roll up, we take Magnus, and we go home."

"No...no. Bullshit. Fox, I have noticed this trend of, _not thinking clearly, _you have fallen into. So let me get this straight. You think we are just gonna show up, walk right through the front door, and take this guy? I really doubt this is going to be a cake walk Fox. Why are you so eager to do this anyway? Why can't we wait for backup or something?"

Fox didn't respond, he just kept his eyes on the road. It was pitch black, and having no headlights made things a little difficult when it came to weaving in and out of debris and abandon vehicles.

"Fox, talk to me man. This could be suicide! Don't be risking your tail over some personal vendetta against this guy. You _can't _take this shit personal Fox. This is our business, and if you let your emotions get in the way, you are just gonna get yourself killed. Don't you wanna be around for your friends? Don't you want to see Fara again? I don't think Star Fox needs to lose another Captain."

Fox slammed on the breaks causing Falco to fumble the gun onto the floor.

The vulpine was fed up. "Alright Falco tell me this, if someone shot you point blank in the chest in the name of destroying everything you ever fought for, would you take it personal? Huh?"

Falco was caught of guard, and was lost for words.

"Well?!" Fox demanded an answer.

"Uh yeah....I probably would."

"Well there you go, you solved the mystery. Now will you do me a favor, in fact, as your Captain, this is an order. Shut the hell up, or get out."

"Jeez Fox, take it easy. I _get _it. You don't have to bite my head off. Man, what's gotten into _you_? Ever since we plucked you off Venom you have been....I don't know Fox. You haven't been yourself, and I don't think you are ready for what we are about to get into."

"Falco...There's just too much at stake now, and if the military is right about Magnus being as important as they say he is, we have a chance to end this before it even starts. That...and twenty million credits."

The avian shook his head, "Just drive Fox. If we go back now, they are probably gonna toss us in jail anyway for the shit you pulled on the base. I'm surprised they haven't caught up to us by now. "

Fox placed his foot on the gas pedal and gave it a push, causing the truck to lurch forward once more.

"I doubt they will try to stop us, besides, this is our job now, our contract," said Fox.

"There is no contract Fox. If anything it's a word of mouth contract. I honestly wish Fara was here, I think she is the only one that'll ever talk some sense into that thick head of yours."

Fox just shrugged off that last comment. He just didn't care anymore. He wanted all this to be over, he wanted the fighting to finally stop, and if it meant taking out Magnus, so be it. He hadn't talked to Fara in ages anyway, it's not like she's waiting for him to come home, so Fox didn't let that stop him.

"But whatever Fox. Onward with the suicide mission! At least we get to go out with a bang." Falco said sarcastically.

Fox scrunched his brow, "Don't you remember what Peppy told us before we were sworn into Star Fox?"

"No, not really."

Fox sighed, "Every mission, is a suicide mission."

"Then why they hell didn't he come with us? We haven't even heard from him once."

"You know why he didn't come. He said he would slow us down, and he wanted to be there to tell the military what happened when they showed up."

Falco shook his head, "Yeah, _if_ they showed up. You would think in a situation like that, during times like these, they would be all over it. Something isn't right Fox, this all feels wrong."

There was a moment of silence as Fox continued to drive on into the night.

Then Falco spoke up again, "I mean, what if we get there, and there's like, a small army of these guys. You really think we are going to have a chance?"

Fox just shook his head, " Magnus thinks I'm dead, we might be able to catch them off guard."

"You really think that matters? You think he's like, 'well Fox is dead, now _no one _can stop us.' This ain't a _movie _Fox. I'm sure they are prepared for...gee, I don't know, in case the _Cornerian Army _shows up?"

Fox just kept driving.

"Alright, fine. Let's do this. Two guys going up against the uprising of Andross guerrillas, no pun intended. I like the odds."

"You really think Magnus has that many men at his disposal right now? Slippy said they only tracked a _couple_ of vans to this location."

"Yeah that's pretty gutsy holding up in the bank tower, but I guess it makes sense, this place is a ghost town," agreed Falco.

Fox brought Slippy up on the com link, "Hey Slippy, you watching us?"

"_Sure am Fox, you're almost there, like a couple of blocks. When you hit Jade, make a right, and it should be the tower on the right._"

Falco joined in, "Hey Slip, any signs of movement near the building?"

"_Ummm, no. It's dead out there; they might all be inside due to the storm. I'm not getting any readings from surrounding buildings either, but be careful! This storm might be interfering with the scanners, so we can't be one hundred percent certain. From what I saw about an hour ago, they shot down that police helicopter that was trying to trail them._"

Fox's and Falco's stomach sank; they might be running into another sniper situation. Only this time, they would be dodging rockets.

"_So be careful, I doubt you should drive up to the front of the building, maybe try and cut through the parking garage that's behind the bank tower. You should be able to sneak in from there, and....uhhh...._" Slippy let out a heavy sigh.

Fox could tell something was bothering the toad, "Slippy?"

"_UGH FOX! Do you really have to do this?! Have you completely lost your mind?! You are just going to get yourself killed! You have no idea what you are getting in to! I mean, come on Fox, think of your friends for once! Think of your team! We need you as a leader! We can wait Fox, we can get the military help, and you don't have to do this on your own_."

"Slippy, I'm not. I got Falco with me."

"FOX! This is no time for jokes! Why don't..."

"Hey that ain't no joke!" Falco snapped.

Fox continued, "Slippy if we don't do this more people are going to die at the hands of this man before anything can be planned. So keep an eye on us Slip, we are going in. And that's an order."

"_UGH, fine! Slippy out_."

"Christ McCloud, you bring the saying 'crazy as a fox' to another level. Wait look! Stop!"

Fox slammed on the breaks.

A sign sat on the center divider in the middle of the road.

"Jade Ave" was what it read.

"Almost there." Fox said. "Front door or back?"

Falco looked around, "Well I don't see where the hell this parking garage is, so I don't think we have a choice."

They reached the intersection and made the turn. There was no going back now, they were more than certain they were being watched, they just didn't know from where.

The thunderstorm above was beginning to lose its luster. The monstrous thunderheads passed over the north mountain range leaving small scattered rain clouds in its wake. The rain was still falling but with each passing minute it became lighter and lighter. The moon was full and finally pierced through the clouds as it rose from the horizon, acting as the faint spot light that pierced the thick blackness of night. The fog was still thick, visibility was still low, but the moonlight brought a calming peace to the two mercenaries. Maybe they would get through this.

They have been in worse situations anyway. Surviving a mission on Solar would make anyone feel invincible. That feeling of invincibility seemed to have diminished for Fox and Falco. They were out of their element, had this been an attack on a enemy space cruiser, they probably would already be coming home. Instead, they are on the ground, with no mission brief, and a couple of clips of ammunition.

They had the training for this, as any soldier would, pilot or not. They just didn't have the experience like a foot soldier would.

Little did they know, that was all about to change.

Fox put the truck in park, and killed the ignition.

There it was, the 1st Corneria Bank tower.

The monolithic structure loomed over them, seeming to stretch on forever into the sky.

The building had seen better days. Being such a large structure it took quite a beating. Many of the floors large glass windows that wrapped all around the building were completely blown out. Chunks of the building were blown off, exposing twisted steel and concrete. It almost looked like something came and took multiple bites out of the skyscraper.

It still stood though, sturdy as ever. Cornerian architecture was an engineering marvel; a true site to behold. These buildings could take tons of abuse before they would crumble to their foundation, and that's mainly why a lot of the city's newer builders were still standing.

The two mercenaries began to gear up. They outfitted themselves with military combat vests that were able to hold extra ammo clips for their plasma riles as well as a few grenades. Falco slung their newfound sniper rifle over this back. They didn't have much to work with, but hopefully luck would rule in their favor once more, as it always seems to.

They headed for the front doors of the office tower, weaving in and out large chunks of fallen concrete that came from the building itself. With in moments they reached the end of the buildings courtyard and arrived at the front doors. It had but one set of large glass double doors on the north entrance side.

Rifles in hand, Fox placed a paw on the door handle, and gave it a pull. The large ten-foot tall glass door was quite heavy and usually opened automatically back when civilians frequented the building before the war.

Falco watched Fox's back as he pulled all his might and opened the door.

"Alright, let's go." Fox whispered to his teammate.

Falco kept his rifle and swiftly passed through the door as Fox held it open. The vulpine followed close behind, the door slowly closing shut behind him.

"Slippy, we're in. I'll keep you posted." Fox quietly reported into his com link. "Come on Falco, let's move."

With the vulpine leading, they made their way through the buildings ground floor; the lobby. Moonlight started to slowly flood into the large room through the large outer glass windows. The lobby was thick with dust and dirt making it apparent it was abandoned long ago. In the middle of the lobby was a large circle shaped desk made from what seemed to be marble. That had to be the receptionist's desk, the building's main hub for information.

Fox and Falco took cover on one side of it, and poked their heads up taking a better look around.

"Fox, doesn't look like there's anyone one home," said Falco.

"Yeah, looks clear to me." Fox relaxed his weapon and stood up.

Falco followed suit, "Alright Fox, now what?....Fox?"

The vulpine pointed up towards a security camera that was fixated on where they stood. What made it even more unnerving was a small green light on the front of the cameras casing was illuminated.

"They know were here." Fox calmly stated.

Soon after one of the elevators lit up, then another, and then another.

"Oh shit, here they come!" Falco yelled out.

"Come on take cover! MOVE!" Fox ordered.

They both moved back to the cover of the reception desk, which was about forty feet away from the elevator shafts.

They shut off their flashlights on the end of their rifles and just waited. Their hearts raced with each ding of the elevator shaft.

Fox pulled a flash-bang grenade from his vest.

Suddenly, multiple flood lights that were placed on the upper floor of the lobby came to life, blinding Fox and Falco. Now they couldn't see anything.

The elevators reached the bottom floor; a loud more audible chime rang out. Soon followed the sounds of the doors sliding open. About six apes draped in black military gear came pouring out of the elevators with ballistic rifles in hand.

"Kill them both! Move!" A deep boom voice yelled out. "They're on the other side of that desk open fire!!"

Fox pulled the pin from his grenade and tossed it over the desk.

"Take cover! Grenade!"

The flash-bang blew up, blinding nearly half of the apes.

"HIT 'EM!" Fox yelled out.

Fox and Falco popped out of cover, rifles ready, chose their targets and opened fire.

Plasma rounds were now flying through the air as the apes tried to collect themselves.

Fox managed to clip one in the head, sending him crashing to the ground, shooting his own gun in the air as he fell.

Falco landed a few shots on another ape but his efforts seemed futile. Their vests were absorbing the shots from their plasma based weapons.

"Aim for the head!" Fox yelled.

"Always do." Falco replied.

"Doesn't look like it."

"NOT THE TIME FOX!"

"KILL THEM!!!!" An ape yelled out.

Fox and Falco fell back behind cover as the apes returned fire.

It seemed all hell was raining down on them now. The bullets from their rifles ripped through their cover sending chunks of marble and dust through the air. Their weapons were so loud Fox almost had to cover his ears it was so unbearable.

The two mercenaries crouched down low as they could, trying to avoid getting killed.

The shooting stopped.

"MOVE IN! RELOAD!"

Fox saw another place where they could take cover and not get flanked. About thirty feet to his right were the banker counters.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Fox yelled at his comrade.

They stood from cover and fired a couple of rounds at the apes. Then they ran like hell.

If they had stayed behind the receptionist desk they would have been easily flushed out or flanked do to its circle shape.

Some of the apes dove behind the receptionist desk for cover, others just took the shots.

Falco fired some rounds over his shoulder as they sprinted for their next position on the makeshift battlefield.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Just as they dove over the banker counters, everything around them seemed to explode from gun fire. Old computer screens, stacks of paper, chunks of marble counter top, and other types of debris filled the air. Fox and Falco landed flat on their backs on the other side of the banker counters and watched as the bullets punched countless holes in the wall right above them. Falco let out a moan of pain. He nearly forgot having the sniper rifle strapped to his back, and landing on didn't feel to good either.

The got to their hands and knees and crawled along the inside of the desk. They were out of sight now, but the bullets kept coming tearing up everything around them, and on occasion punching through a weak part of the long banker counter they were using for cover.

They kept crawling, slowing getting ahead of where the shots were landing. At least they were out of site.

"FRAG OUT!" One of the apes yelled out.

This made Fox's fur stand on end, as well as Falco's feathers.

Within seconds, about only a few feet behind them the grenade exploded on the other side of the counter leaving a gaping hole in it.

"THROW ANOTHER!"

Fox and Falco just laid flat on the floor with their heads covered.

Another blast ripped a large gaping hold in their cover. This time it was only but a few feet ahead of Fox.

Their ears were ringing from the explosions, their vision was blurred, and now they had gaping holes in their cover in both directions.

Fox turned towards Falco, kneeling on one knee, still a bit dazed.

"You alright?" Fox asked.

Falco propped his back up against the wall with his plasma rifle close to his chest. He just nodded his head in a agreement.

Then Falco's eyes grew wide, and Fox felt a large presence behind him.

"Fox look out!!!" Falco yelled.

Before Fox could even react, he was grabbed by the throat and lifted a few feet from the ground. Fox dropped his weapon to the floor.

He struggled and choked for air as one of the apes held him by his neck.

Falco aimed his rifle but before he could fire it was kicked right out of his wing's grasp. Then he had the barrel of a gun pointed right in his face.

"So this is the great Fox McCloud. The one who killed our great emperor, Andross. Magnus was very displeased to discover you are still alive," said the hulking ape that held Fox up.

The ape continued as Fox struggled to free himself from his grasp, "You are very foolish vulpine, expecting to come here like you are, and kill Magnus. You didn't even fare longer than a few minutes. You have my respect; your bravery is quite evident. But you fight in vain, you can't win this battle, and you can't stop Magnus. Kill the bird, my brother, and let his Captain watch him suffer."

The ape holding his rifle to Falco's face gave an evil smile, "As you wish."

Falco held his breath as millions of thoughts rushed through his head. His life flashed before his eyes.

Fox was helpless; he couldn't do anything to stop it.

The ape pulled the trigger....

But nothing happened.

"What?? ARGH, these damn weapons keep jamming!" The ape complained.

He pulled the trigger a few more times, and hit the side of the rifle trying to get it to operate.

Fox felt the grip around his neck begin to relax with allowed him to take in a gulp of air.

This was his chance, the apes were distracted.

The vulpine grabbed his combat knife from his vest and thrust it over his shoulder, driving it right into the ape's eye.

The brute let out a roar of pain has he dropped Fox to the ground.

The vulpine didn't even look back to see the fruits of his efforts. The moment he hit the ground he crossed his arms reaching under his combat vest and pulled out a pistol for each hand.

In one hand his blaster, charged and ready. In the other, the black handgun Magnus left behind at the hospital.

He took aim at the shocked ape standing in front of Falco, who was still trying to get his rifle to clear.

Fox opened fire. The mixture of the two different weapons proved deadly.

His blaster caused the ape to stumble backwards, but didn't penetrate his combat vest. The ballistic pistol on the other hand ripped right through it, blood spurting from his chest with each blast.

A few rounds and he went down.

Four to go.

Falco scrambled to his feet and grabbed Fox's plasma rifle since his was kicked all the way to the end of the banker counter.

Fox guided his aim over to the ape that had him by the throat moments ago.

"ARRRGGHH!" The ape ripped the knife from his skull, blood spewing from his eye socket.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" The brute roared.

"I don't think so." Fox replied.

The vulpine let the rounds fly once more, sending a barrage of blaster rounds and bullets slamming into the ape's chest.

The brute threw Fox's blade in the air as he crashed to the ground.

Fox watched the knife tumble through the air in his direction. He dropped his blaster to the ground and snatched the blade out of midair, and placed it back in its holster.

Three to go.

Fox noticed the pistol's slide was locked open and showed an empty bullet chamber. He pulled an ammo clip from his vest that he salvaged from the sniper. He noticed the gun was strikingly similar to how the blaster operated. He pushed a small button on the side of the gun and the empty ammo clip slid out and bounced on the floor. Then he slammed the fresh clip in the bottom of the weapon and ratcheted the slide, chambering a bullet. Although the weapon was foreign, it still seemed natural to use.

Fox glanced left, seeing Falco crouched behind cover with his plasma rifle ready. Falco reached under his combat vest and pulled out another ballistic pistol, the same one they took from the sniper's body.

"Here Fox, I'll soften them up, you take them down." Falco handed the gun to the vulpine.

The apes were in disbelief seeing their comrades brought down by the two much "inferior beings."

"ENOUGH! KILL THEM ALREADY!" One of the apes screamed.

Fox sprung to his feet and sprinted forward through the hole that was blow out of the banker counter.

He saw two apes directly in front of him and one on his left flank.

"Falco! Hit the one on my flank!"

The avian took aim and let lose a storm of plasma right in the chest of the ape soldier. The impacts of the rounds caused him to lose is footing. Then before he could retaliate Fox took aim and shot three rounds. Two in the chest, one in the head.

The ape was down.

Then Fox turned his attention forward finding himself just a few feet from the other two apes.

The vulpine had one advantage, they were scared.

Falco shot the ape on the left, distracting it as Fox shot the other in the leg.

The ape with the bullet wound in his leg hobbled over in pain. Next thing he knew, Fox slammed the pistol right into his forehead causing him to fall flat on his back as the vulpine ran passed him.

The remaining ape watched out of the corner of his eye as his fellow soldier crashed to the ground with a spit forehead and a bloody bullet wound to the leg.

"AHHHH!" The ape let out a battle cry as he sprayed bullets in frustration at the vulpine.

Fox twisted around and dove backwards over the receptionist desk firing rounds at the final threat.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, bullets whizzed by Fox's head as he fell to the ground.

The vulpine landed perfectly, yet by accident, in an old office chair. The impact of his body sent it tumbling over backwards, spilling Fox out on to the floor as it crashed to the ground.

He fought to his feet, a bit dazed. He realized he had emptied the clips in both of his guns.

He went for a fresh clip but then was startled but the sound of a large figure slamming into the circle shaped desk.

The final ape was perched upon the desk, aiming down the sites of his rifle. He breathed heavy as Fox could see blood running down his arms and chest. He hit the ape alright, but the brute's anger and adrenalin was keeping him alive.

"You...you killed my BROTHERS!" He roared in a primal rage. "NOW YOU WILL PAY!"

But before he could end the vulpine's life, the apes head exploded into bloody bits and chunks. Fox was sprayed with a shower of blood causing him to stagger backwards falling right on his tail.

The brute's body stood there for a moment headless, then toppled over, crashing to the ground.

Fox coughed and gagged up blood that wasn't his own. "What the _FUCK _just happened?!"

Next thing he knew he saw Falco standing on the other side of the receptionist desk with the sniper rifle in hand and a huge smile on his face.

Fox just sat there, his eyes wide in shock.

"You gotta try this thing out." Falco said.

Fox staggered to his feet, wiping the blood from his face, "A little _much?!_"

Falco shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Hey man, I like to get _results _when I pull the trigger."

The avian looked down at the headless ape, "You don't get better results than that...God _damn._"

Fox just shook his head, "Search the bodies Falco. I'm gonna contact Slippy."

"Aye-aye Captain....and you're welcome."

Fox activated his com link once again, "Slippy you copy?"

"_Yeah Fox! You guy's alright? Your vitals were all over the place_!"

"Uhh yeah, were fine. We just ran into a couple of guards. Nothing major."

"_Oh thank goodness! I was shaking in my chair waiting to hear from you guys!_"

"Well, we're still breathing. You got a pinpoint on Magnus?"

"_Uhhh, from what I can see on the scanner readings, there's a lot of activity on the top two floors_."

Falco picked up one of the rifles from a dead ape, "Great, that's only, what... Seventy stories up?"

Fox let out a sigh, "Okay Slip, thanks. Hey, I noticed they were using the elevators. Does this building have power?"

"_No Fox, the whole grid is down in the downtown area," Slippy replied. "They might be using some kind of generator to power certain parts of the structure._"

"Okay Slip, thanks. We are gonna start our ascent. If you see anything on the scans that we should know about let us know."

"_Roger that Fox! The storm is clearing up as we speak, so within a half hour I could probably give you one hundred percent accurate info from the infrared scans. As for now, just watch yourselves, I don't want you walking into a trap_."

"Thanks Slip, Fox out."

Falco approached Fox, his arms full of weapons and ammunition. He laid it all out on the desk and they took a look at what they had.

They each took a ballistic rifle and all the ammo clips they could fit on their vests and ammo belt.

Fox contacted Slippy once more and inquired about the rifles. They were called M4 carbine assault rifles. Slippy gave them all the info he had on the weapons, from operation procedures, to how much ammo they held, and how to clear the gun when it jams.

They locked and loaded and left their energy based weapons behind. The apes seemed to have vests that were designed to absorb plasma rounds, thinking they would be the only ones using old weapon technology.

Fox and Falco stood before the elevator doors.

"You really think we should take one of these things? I mean, say we get to the top, as soon as the doors open, we are shot up like fish in a barrel." Falco explained.

Fox pushed the call button on the wall, and the doors slid open, "Don't worry, I got a plan."

"Wow, that's a first. Does it involve taking the stairs?"

The vulpine stepped in the elevator, "You really want to climb seventy flights?"

"Dammit McCloud." Falco shrugged and joined his captain.

They stood side by side with their new found weapons in hand, ready for anything Magnus could throw at them. The elevator doors slid shut, Fox pressed the button labeled "70", and the elevator began its ascent.

However, nothing could prepare them for what they were about to encounter next.

The elevator slowly climbed the shaft, giving the two mercenaries time to catch their breath.

Fox and Falco watched as the floors passed by, the light illuminating the level they were on.

Falco cleared his throat, "So uh...How's your shoulder?"

"Hurts like hell." Fox replied, without turning his head at the avian.

"You want any pills? I got some."

Fox shook his head, "No, I'm alright. We're almost done here anyway."

"Alright tough guy. If you say so." Falco shrugged.

The elevator was half way to the top.

They stood in silence.

"Okay Falco, here's plan. When we reach the top floor, I'm sure they are going to be waiting for us so..."

Suddenly Fox was cut off by the elevator coming to a screeching halt. The lights in the elevator car flickered as they stood silent, their hearts starting to race with anticipation.

Fox lit up the com link, "Slippy! Slippy do you read? They shut down the elevator on us!"

There was a bit of static but the message still went through.

Slippy replied, "_I know Fox I'm trying to figure out where they are controlling it from, maybe I could remotely hack into the buildings power grid and getting it running again and....wait....what the?_"

Slippy's voice was drowned out by a thick wall of static.

"Slippy! Slippy! You copy? Dammit!" Fox slammed his fist on the side of the wall. "We were so close!"

"Alright, what the hell do we do now Fox?!" Falco snapped.

"Hold on, let me think!" The vulpine sighed and ran his paw over the top of his head.

Suddenly the static died on the com link and a voice could be heard.

Only this time, it wasn't Slippy.

"_Fox McCloud you are quite the persistent one aren't you?_"

It was the voice of Magnus Veridan.

Fox bared his teeth and scrunched his brow, "Magnus! You aren't going to get away with..."

"_Oh enough with the heroics Fox. How could you even imagine taking me from this place? You don't even know what awaits you at the top of this broken structure. Do you always blindly jump into situations such as this? Do you really think you are invincible? That could be your one true weakness Fox McCloud. You think you can do anything. You think you can defy the inevitable! I watched you kill my men just moments ago, and I must say I was impressed at your efforts. However, a bullet proof vest can not save you from your next obstacle. Prepare to say hello to an old friend Fox._"

Fox and Falco looked at each other with puzzled faces.

Then what happened next was truly terrifying.

The lights in the elevator car went dark, and their ride to the top came to a screeching halt.

Now it was pitch black, they couldn't even see each other.

"Shit, Fox I don't _like _this." Falco started to panic.

Trapped in a box hundreds of feet of the ground as the tendency to make someone "lose their cool".

"Stay cool Falco, we will get out of this. I promise." Fox tried to comfort the avian.

Fox clicked on his weapon mounted flashlight and cut through the blackness. Falco's shadow was painted over the wall as he held his weapon close.

"Well now what do we do Fox, we are trapped like fucking rats in here!" Falco yelled.

"CHILL!" Fox tried to contact Slippy, "Slippy, Fox here, we are trapped inside the elevator! Magnus cut the power and we need a way out of this. We need some help here Slippy!"

Nothing but static.

"SLIPPY DO YOU COPY?!" The vulpine shouted.

This Fox's ears perked up when he finally heard Slippy's voice break through the interference.

"_FOX!.....it.....something....down the...ator shaft._" Slippy's words were constantly interrupted by static.

"What? I didn't copy that Slippy say that again?"

Both mercenaries pressed their ear pieces nearly into their skulls trying to hear what Slippy had to say.

The interference finally broke away," _THERE'S SOMETHING COMING DOWN THE ELEVATOR SHAFT!!_"

"WHAT?!" Fox barked in confusion.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Something slammed into the top the elevator car. The impact was fierce, causing the two to stumble to the floor as the elevator shook violently.

"What the HELL was that?!" Falco yelled as he shined his light on the ceiling.

"I....I have no idea." Fox replied in total shock.

They could hear something above them. Something or _someone _was now on top the elevator car.

"Fox, what do we do...?" Falco whispered to his Captain.

"Don't move, don't speak." Fox held up his fist, ordering Falco to hold.

Then a thunderous slam came from above and large dent was put in the steel above them.

"Oh my God," Fox let out under his breath.

Another impact was forced into the steel above, leaving another bulge in the steel elevator's ceiling.

Then another, then another.

Fox and Falco's stomachs were in knots and their hearts were racing faster than they ever felt.

"FOX WE GOTTA GO RIGHT..." Falco was cut off by the sound of something that made their skin crawl and fill the air with a thick sense of dread.

The howl of a wolf.

"It can't be." Fox said.

Sounds of snarls and growling could be heard through the mangled steel above.

Then their fears escalated to another level when the steel finally gave way just a bit. They could see a dark grayish claw trashing about as it tried to reach the contents of this suspended prison.

"SHIT IT'S GETTING THROUGH!" Falco yelled out.

"OPEN FIRE!" Fox commanded.

The two comrades pulled their triggers and let the bullets fly.

The muzzle flashes caused a strobe light effect as bullets drilled into the ceiling above.

They fired every round they had at whatever the hell was trying to get to them. The click of empty ammo clips rang out as they held down their triggers.

"Did we kill it?" Falco asked, still pointing his weapon at the mangled steel ceiling above.

The sound of something trickling on the floor was audible.

Fox pointed his light to the ground, it was blood.

"I think....I think we got it." Fox sighed out.

They held their breath as they waited for something to happen. Flashlights pointed upward and staring at the small hole that was punched in they prayed they killed whatever was trying to get to them. If it could punch through steel, they couldn't imagine what else it could do.

"What the hell was that thing?!" Said Falco, his voice trembling as he spoke. It was clear the avian was shaken.

The vulpine let out a stuttering breath, "I don't _know _Falco but I think we got..."

Fox was cut off by the sounds of grinding metal on metal. The elevator car dropped a few feet.

"SHIT! IT'S CUTTING THE CLABLES!" Falco ejected the empty ammo clip from his weapon.

"No! Forget shooting it! Help me get the doors open!" Fox ordered.

They slung their weapons over their backs and took position on each side of the elevators sliding doors.

"PULL!" Fox screamed out.

They pulled with all their might and managed to open the doors just a bit as the elevator dropped another couple of feet.

The both slid on the inside of the door keeping each side open with their bodies. Now for the second set of doors that was on each floor. Once more they pulled with all their strength and wedged open the doors. The 2nd set was a bit harder because it was a few feet above them since the elevator was dropping down further and further.

"Here! This will keep it open." Falco wedged his sniper rifle in between the 2nd set of doors; keeping them open.

"COME ON FOX GO!" Falco yelled.

Without hesitation Fox climbed out of the elevator to safety. Fox spun around and extended his hand towards Falco, still holding his side of the 1st set of doors open.

"FALCO COME ON!" Fox pleaded.

Falco reached out with his left wing and Fox grabbed hold of it.

The vulpine pulled with all his might.

The final cable was cut, and the elevator was set free.

Falco escaped with only but two feet of clearance. If he was pulled from the elevator any later, his legs could have been severed off, or worse.

They could hear the elevator scream to the bottom of the shaft hundreds of feet below, until finally it slammed into the ground floor.

They struggled to their feet, shaken physically and mentally.

"Shit Fox, that was too... _fucking.... _close. You see why I wanted to take the stairs now?" Falco ran his wings through his head feathers as he tried to catch his breath.

Fox grabbed his rifle from his back and loaded a fresh clip into it, "Slippy, do you copy?."

"_Yeah Fox, I'm here. You guys okay?_"

Falco butt in, "Yeah we're just fucking dandy! How are you?"

"_I'M A NERVOUS WRECK THANKS FOR ASKING_!" Slippy screamed.

"Guys chill out!" Fox snapped. "Slippy you have any idea what the hell that was?"

"_No Fox, but its moving fast, very fast....It's....it's moving through the air ducts!" _

Fox and Falco could hear something scurrying above them, causing clouds of dust to fall from above.

"Yeah Slip, we know."

They took in their surroundings. The floor they were on was nothing but a sprawling office space. No walls, just one giant room. Cubicles covered nearly every square foot of the office floor. It seemed that who ever once occupied this office left in a hurry. Tables and chairs turned over, office supplies everywhere, it was a mess. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered nearly everything. All the windows were blown out and the moonlight shined through, faintly illuminating everything around Fox and Falco. This was also one of the floors that took a direct hit. A large gaping hole made its presences at the corner of the office. They could feel the cold wind blow through, giving them chills.

That wasn't the only thing running shivers down their spines at the moment.

They hear something crash to the floor about fifty feet away.

Falco jammed a fresh clip into this assault rifle, "Here it comes."

Fox whispered into the com link, "Slippy, what floor are we on."

"_Forty-fourth and Fox, there's a helicopter on top of the building. I think I'm seeing figures loading it up and in a hurry too. They might be leaving Fox, Magnus might be trying to escape!" _

"Thanks Slip, but we got another problem on our hands at the moment. Fox out."

Fox made eye contact with Falco, "Let's move, stay low, watch my back. Lets nail this thing."

Falco nodded, "You got it."

With their flashlights on, the two mercenaries slow crept through the office. They moved inch by inch, checking every corner, every nook and cranny. There was a stair well at the far end of the office, that was their destination.

Moving through the office made them feel like they were in a maze with all the cubicles.

Suddenly they heard the sounds of movement to their right. The both turned and aimed their weapons with lightning quick reflexes. All they could see was an empty desk, tucked away in a cubicle.

Maybe they were just hearing things.

Fox felt like his heart was in his throat. He gripped his weapon with all his might, he never been so nervous in his life. There wasn't a doubt in his mind Falco felt the same way.

The wind whistled as a quick gust passed through the shattered windows frames.

Then from behind they heard what sounded like a desk crashing to the ground, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

They both whipped around and held up their weapons shining light down the cubicle corridor they were passing through.

They didn't see a thing.

"It's fucking with us." Falco said a quiet as he could.

Fox tapped on the avian's shoulder to get his attention, "I say we just run for it, try to make it to the stairwell."

"I don't think that is going to make a difference Fox."

"You got a better idea?"

Falco just stared at the vulpine, then he spoke, "No, I have no fucking idea what....."

It all happened so fast.

With the furry of a freight train, something exploded through the cubicles to their left and in the blink of an eye, Falco wasn't standing before Fox anymore.

"FOX HELP ME!!! AAAAHHHH!!"

A sense of fear came over the vulpine like he had never felt before.

It all happened in slow motion.

Fox listing to the screams of his teammate being dragged away as he made his way through a path of smashed debris left behind by the beast.

That's what it had to be, some sort of monster. Something that came right out of your worst nightmares.

Then he finally caught up the screams, and his flashlight reviled a sight that indeed came right from Fox's worst nightmares.

Falco was on the ground, and over him was some sort of half beast, half machine, clawing away at him.

"FOX HELP ME PLEASE!!"

Fox opened fire on the creature.

It took nearly ten rounds until it finally stopped.

It twisted around, and Fox saw its face.

It was the face of a wolf, intertwined with metal.

Fox felt like he was going to throw up. He knew who it was.

They had brought him back.

The beast howled as its metallic snout twisted into anger and drew it's attention towards the vulpine.

It stood from Falco's body, and readied to strike.

Fox stepped back and opened fire.

A combination of sparks and blood spurted from the wolf's body. In a flash it jumped straight up through the ceiling, escaping the punishment from Fox's weapon.

Fox could hear it above him, but it was moving away.

The vulpine looked to the ground and saw a fallen avian.

"FALCO!" Fox ran to his comrade's side.

He was torn up pretty bad, but he was alive. He had cuts all over his face, a black eye, and claw marks on his chest that ripped all the way through his combat vest. Blood tricked from the gapping wounds on his chest.

Falco was in shock and his breathing was sporadic.

Fox tried to comfort the avian, "Come on bro, stay with me, you are going to be alright."

Falco turned his head towards Fox, his face draped in utter fear, "Did...did you see it?"

"Yeah, I did. Shit...God, _dammit._" Fox cursed at himself.

"It was Wolf, Fox. It was him..." Falco started to break into fever of coughing.

"I know Falco, I saw his face. I can't believe it either, I don't want to."

The sounds of movement from above filled Fox's ears.

"_Fox! What's happening! Falco's vitals are going crazy!!!" _

"He's down Slippy! He's hurt bad, we need an evac now! This mission is over; we gotta get him out of here now! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"_Alright! Okay! Hold on! I'll see what I can do." _

Fox held the fallen avian in his arms. He could almost feel Falco's spirit being drained from his body.

"Hang in there Falco! Come on man, you can pull through! I'm gonna get you out of here, please...." Fox was being overcome with emotion, "Just please hold on."

Guilt washed over the vulpine, Falco was right after all, they were in over their heads with this mission.

Slippy lit up the com link, _"Fox, I can't get a hold of anyone, the entire network is down! There is no help coming! Do you read Fox? You are going to have to find another way! Fox? Fox?!" _

The vulpine didn't respond.

"_FOX DO YOU COPY?!" _

Fox was pinned to the ground, and fighting for his life.

He was caught off guard as he was helping Falco to his feet.

He was now face to face with Wolf, back from the dead, and clawing and tearing his flesh and fur from Fox's body.

Fox protected his face, and tried to push the crazed cyborg off of him, but he wasn't strong enough.

He pulled his knife, but in a blink of an eye, wolf pinned his arm to the ground.

Wolf opened his jaw exposing his razor sharp teeth, and lunged for Fox's neck.

He was going to tear out Fox's throat.

Fox closed his eyes and waited for death.....but then, something strange happened.

He opened his eyes and saw Wolf frozen in place with his mouth open just inches from Fox's throat.

With a yelp Wolf sprung off of Fox's body, and stood beside him.

_Why did he spare me_? Fox thought.

"Isn't he just a marvelous site to behold?" A voice surprised the Vulpine.

Fox whipped his head to his left and saw Magnus walking towards him, through the office debris.

He was accompanied by at least ten or twelve troops. Fox couldn't really tell, his head was spinning and felt like every ounce of energy was spent trying to fight off Wolf.

Fox struggled to his hands an knees, "What did you do to him?!"

The ape laughed, "Why we simply gave him but a second chance!"

Fox got to his feet, his legs shaking from weakness.

The sounds of nearly a dozen rifles being cocked and aimed rang out.

Magnus lifted his wrist, and pressed a few buttons on some sort of device he was wearing.

Wolf's head twitched, and then he made his way over to Magnus's side.

Fox watch the lupine wonder like a zombie over to the ape.

Then Magnus turned his attention to Fox once more, "Re-animation of the dead. One of Andross's many great achievements in scientific research. It took us years to get this far but as you can see, the results are quite astounding. He doesn't think, he doesn't feel, he doesn't _care. _He is nothing but a puppet that obeys my every command."

"You sick bastard!" Fox growled.

Fox got a better look at wolf. His legs were nothing but metal appendages with tubes running through them, pumping blood and other fluids. His torso seemed to still be him, his gray fur still apparent. It was sickening how his metal waist crudely dug into the rest of him. One of his eyes was now cybernetic and the other one, although still organic, didn't have an ounce of life in it. His tail was split in half and his body was covered in scars. He was a truly terrifying site to behold.

"Implanted in his brain, or rather what was left of it when we found him on venoms surface, is a small CPU. We have figured out how to control single individuals that survive the process but how to control several at once...we are coming closer everyday to finding the answer to that. As for now however, have just one of these cybernetic soldiers on the battlefield can easily tip the scale. Their power and agility set them apart from the rest. They don't need weapons to be precise and deadly. It all boils down to primal instinct. I tell him to kill, and he does so. I tell him to stop, he obeys. It's a real shame he be dead in about four months. Although it doesn't show, he's in excruciating pain and his organs won't be able to hold up forever."

"F..Fox..." It was Falco.

Fox looked over at the avian. He was still alive. He rolled on to his side and looked up at this captain who could barely stand himself, "Cap this son of a bitch."

Magnus laughed, " Such spirit your friend has! I admire it with much enthusiasm, indeed."

The ape walked right up to Fox, "As do you, Fox. I thought I killed you but here you are standing before me once more, thinking that you have the power to end this all here and now."

Fox bared his teeth. He knew if he tried anything he would be dead for sure.

Magnus continued, "Even if you did kill me today, it wouldn't change a thing. My fellow brothers, scattered all over this system, will carry out what needs to be done."

"No, not while I'm still breathing, you and your _brothers,_ can go to hell." Fox growled.

"Oh really? Well in that case I have terrible news because..." Magnus brought up his wrist and looked at a display mounted on it, "You have only.... ten minutes until we shatter the foundation of this building and bring it crashing to the ground."

"What?! No!" Fox yelled.

Magnus just laughed, "Yes, it's true. Think of it as a symbol of a new beginning. The tallest, most awe inspiring structure in all of Corneria City, falling to the ground. I'm actually glad you arrived here Fox, you can be part of the celebration! Oh my what a mess this will cause. I'm sure it will be enough for a declaration of war. I PROMISE YOU!"

Magnus hooked his right arm and punched Fox right in the jaw.

The vulpine fell to the ground.

"So today is the day that Fox McCloud is buried in the ruins of this City!" Magnus yelled as he kicked Fox in the stomach.

The vulpine let out a groan of pain, and coughed up blood as the steel toed military boot slammed into him.

"To day we are finally rid of these damned McClouds!"

Fox struggled to his feet, but was kicked right in the chest as rose, sending him falling flat on his back.

"Wolf! Pin him to the ground!" Magnus commanded.

In a flash, Wolf pinned Fox to the ground with a single claw over his neck. Fox struggled with all his might but nothing could break the lupine's grasp.

Magnus keeled down next to Fox, "You want to know something? Oh I bet you are going to _love_ this."

Fox's choked and gasped for air as his legs thrashed and kicked, trying to break free.

"Good, I can see I have your undivided attention, I'm sure you will be interested to hear about your father."

Fox stopped struggling, "What did you say?"

"Take a good look at Wolf, Fox. He is one of the few who actually survived the surgeries necessary to transform him into what you see today. You want to know who _else_ passed through the program? You want to know who _else _we plucked from a burning wreckage upon Venom's surface?"

Fox's face turned to sorrow and dread, "No!! NO!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Magnus smiled, "Ah, wise Fox. You know where this is going, but yes, your father didn't die in the crash. We found him barely hanging on to life by just a thread. We saw the opportunity, and we seized it. You father served as a great test subject for cybernetic studies; also, we didn't have to worry about bringing him back from the dead, as he was already alive. I remember the screams during amputation, oh my, that was quite an experience doing the procedure on a live subject."

Fox felt a rush of anger run through his body like he never felt before. He wanted to tear Magnus apart, but he couldn't, he couldn't break free. He was so frustrated, so exhausted; tears began to roll down his face.

Magnus shook his head, "Yes, I'm sorry Fox, I'm sure this is difficult to hear and sadly, this story has a sad ending. He did survive the transformation, but within a month's time, there were ....complications, and we lost him. It was a shame too, he was nearly combat ready. Died in the name of science he did. Such a noble.... _sacrifice._"

"I'm going to kill you, you sick _fuck._" Fox snarled.

"Let him go Wolf," Magnus ordered.

The lupine obeyed, and released Fox from his grasp.

Fox coughed and gulped in air as the pressure was released from his neck.

The vulpine rolled on his back and crawled towards Falco who was still laid out on the floor.

Magnus took pleasure in watching him suffer; he knew Fox was in pain.

The ape spoke, "You are out of options Fox. This time, you will die. I will not make the same mistake twice, and I will watch you take your last breath. So I bid you farewell."

Fox heard the ratcheting of a pistol from behind.

The vulpine was right next to Falco. The avian turned his head, and locked eye's with his captain.

"We ain't out of options yet, hang in there Falco." Fox whispered.

Slippy voice came screaming through his com link, "_FOX!! What's happening?! You vitals are going berserk! You are both near death! I can't get a hold of anyone! I think they are jamming the military communication network grid! Fox PLEASE RESPOND! PEPPY! ANYONE PLEASE RESPOND!!" _

Slippy watched in terror as Fox and Falco were surrounded by a dozen other figures on his thermal scan. He knew they were in huge trouble and he couldn't get them back up. He didn't even know the building was rigged to blow. He didn't know what to do.

"This isn't fair!!" Slippy cried out slamming his fist on the computer console before him.

"Any final words you wish to speak, Fox McCloud?" Magnus pushed his pistol up against the vulpine's forehead and pulled back the hammer with his thumb.

"Yeah...there is," said Fox.

"Oh? And what could they possibly be? Are you going to beg for your life? What are your final words?"

Fox pushed his finger against his ear, and activated his come link, "Landmaster."

Magnus' brow scrunched in confusion, "What did you just say?"

"What did he say?" Slippy sat with a puzzled look on his face in his chair on the Great Fox,"Did he say...land....mas...Landmaster? LANDMASTER?! THAT'S IT!!! LANDMASTER!! YES!! HA-HA!!"

Slippy began to type feverishly away at the computer terminal, bringing up the Land Master on screen.

"Why didn't I think of this before? I can test out my new A.I. I installed with in the tank." Slippy announced.

The frog turned to Rob, "Open the hangar, we are launching the Landmaster. NOW."

The hanger door on the Great Fox slowly began to lower.

Deep within the hangar, that was now lit with flashing red warning lights, the Landmaster Tank roared to life.

Inside the cockpit, the heads up display lit up, and ran a diagnostics check.

"Landmaster Tank Automated Piloting System, online, awaiting command." A robot female voice said over the Great Fox's com link.

"Landmaster! FIND FOX! NOW!" Slippy yelled over the com link, as he lifted the safety on a large red button before him. The button was labeled "launch LMT.

He slammed his fist on the button.

"Locating Fox McCloud." The tanks A.I. responded as the main engines fired up.

Hundreds of images flashed one of the Land Masters many displays, until finally it came to a stop. An icon with Fox's face on it appeared on screen.

"Location confirmed."

The launch sequence initiated and catapulted the tank down the hanger at incredible speed.

The war machine screamed out of the hanger and fell to the city below.

It fired its bottom thrusters, slowing its descent to the broken metropolis below.

Finally it touched down, slamming into the top of another office sky scraper.

It adjusted its heading and ignited its main thrusters. It tore across the top of the building and dove right off the side, diving into the city below.

It slammed into another building top, causing the office tower to buckle. The windows of the buildings top floors shattered as the tank slammed into it. Once more it gunned it off the side of the building.

Now it was heading right towards the side of another office tower, but nothing was stopping this machine from reaching its destination.

It slammed into the side of the building, crashing right through it. It exploded out the other side sending shattered concrete, glass, and twisted metal in all directions.

Nothing could stop it.

A distant boom could be heard, rattling the foundation of the 1st Corneria Bank tower.

Magnus head jerked at his troops, "What was that?! What happened? Did the charges blow?"

A brute responded, "No sir, the charges are still set to blow in about five minutes."

Another distant rumble passed through Magnus' ears. It shook the building once more, causing office debris to shuffle to one side.

He lowered his weapon from Fox's head, and turned towards where the mysterious sound was coming from.

About fifty feet away, he could the edge of the forty-fourth floor. Parallel to the bank tower was another office spire that reached into the sky.

Something caught the ape's eye.

"IT CAN'T BE!"

The Landmaster erupted from the other building, sending it's self on a crash course with the bank tower and right for Magnus.

It soared through the air, and cleared the gab between the buildings.

The tall twenty foot tall ceilings gave the Land Master enough room to fit perfectly within the building. It plowed through the office debris sending everything flying through the air, or smashed beneath its massive treads.

Magnus dove out of the way of in the incoming agile machine. It nearly crushed him. Magnus' men stumbled and fell to ground as the tank ripped through the office.

The Landmaster came to a sliding halt beside Fox and Falco.

Anger came over Magnus' face, "WOLF! TEAR IT TO PIECES!"

The ape reached for his device that controlled the lupine but before he could insert the command, a bullet tore through his wrist, and destroyed the device.

"WHAT?! NO!!!" Magnus tripped to the ground holding his injured wrist.

Wolf let out a mournful howl as he fell to his hands and knees. This mind was now free from the ape's control.

Magnus breathed heavily as he looked up from his bleeding writs and saw Fox standing by the Landmaster, holding a smoking gun.

"You...WILL PAY! KILL THIS FUCKING FOX ALREADY!"

The brutes rallied together reading their weapons, and rushed towards the vulpine.

"OPEN FIRE!!" An ape commanded.

Wolf's head shot up bearing his teeth, and his snout twisted in anger. "No."

The apes opened fire, but before any bullet could claim Fox's life, Wolf, with his lightning quick agility, tackled vulpine to the ground.

Fox through Wolf was going to kill him, but as it turned out, his reasonings were quite the opposite.

Hundreds of rounds drilled into Wolfs back causing sparks and blood to spurt from his body. The lupine yelped out in pain as he took the shots. Fox watched in silent horror as crude lead filled the vulpine's body.

He had saved Fox.

They emptied their weapons clips and the gun fire came to a stop.

Wolf twisted around with a look of rage in his face. He let out a snarl as he slow approached the apes.

The apes were shocked at the lupines actions and started to back away in fear. The brutes were powerful creatures themselves, but they were nothing compared to the strength Wolf possessed.

The lupine was on the hunt, and let out a bone chilling howl.

He charged the apes running on all fours.

They knew they couldn't stop him.

A clenched bionic fist slammed into the chest of one of the apes sending him flying through the air, screaming.

He turned to his next prey, a brute that had enough guts to try to fight back.

The ape through a punch but Wolf just caught his fist in his own paw. Then the lupine grabbed hold of the ape's arm.

"NO! PLEASE NO!" The ape cried out.

Wolf ripped his arm clean off.

The ape fell to the ground screaming in agony as blood spewed from an empty arm socket.

Wolf's head snapped to another ape. He swung the dismembered limb at the brute's head and took it clean off.

Fox looked on in terror as Wolf slaughtered all of Magnus' men. It was almost to much to take, Fox wanted to throw up as he witnessed the bloodbath and listened to the screams of brutality.

Time was short though, no time to waste.

Fox climbed to his feet and ran over to Falco.

He helped the avian to his feet, "Come on Falco, WE...ARE...LEAVING!"

Falco rolled his head to once side, "Fox, that freak ripped me a new one, I'm bleeding out pretty bad."

"Just hang in there bro, I'm gonna get us out of here."

They hobbled over to the Landmaster tank. Sensing their presence, the main hatch automatically opened.

Falco saw the ape missing an arm dead on the floor.

"Actually I'm feeling fucking fantastic, come to think of it," Falco coughed out.

Fox hoisted the avian up onto the side of the Landmaster, and Falco rolled into the back seat inside the tanks cockpit.

Fox lit up the com link, "Slippy this is Fox! This building is about to blow, I lost track of Magnus, I think he slipped out."

Slippy let out a sigh of relief, he didn't think he was going to hear Fox's voice again, "Copy that Fox! I think I saw him make it to the elevator and....WHAT?! IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE?!?"

"Uhhh...Fox out."

"Come on Fox, let's blow this joint!" Falco complained.

"One sec." Fox drew his pistol and rounded the tank. Wolf was still fighting off the remaining apes, but beyond the brawl he could see an elevator door closing, with Magnus inside.

"Fuck." Fox said to himself.

Magnus held his bleeding wrist in his other hand, and breathed heavily. He was scared and couldn't believe was just happened. He lost his men, control of Wolf, and worst of all, Fox McCloud was still alive.

The elevator reached the top of the building and the doors slid open. A helicopter awaited the ape.

Back on the forty-forth floor, Wolf took his final life. An ape with a snapped neck, covered in gaping wounds, fell to the ground dead.

Fox closed his eyes from the horrid site. However, with in the second his eyes were shut, as he felt a presence before him.

Fox jumped back. Wolf was right in front of him.

The vulpine drew his weapon. Even though Wolf saved him, he wasn't taking any chances.

He didn't get the response from Wolf he was expecting. The lupine cowered in fear before Fox, and carefully crept toward him.

Wolf kneeled down before Fox whimpering with great sadness. Fox could see Wolf's body heal itself. Bullets were pushed from his body, and the wounds began to close. He could see the lupine's face wince in pain.

If he only knew the suffering Wolf had been through.

The lupine looked up at Fox.

The vulpine could see the life that was restored in Wolf's one good eye. This once mindless drone was free from his psychological prison.

Wolf slowly reached up and clasped his hands around Fox's, and guided the vulpine weapon, pressing it against Wolf's own forehead.

Then Wolf spoke, "P...please..e..end my...suh..s..suffering."

His mouth didn't even move when he talked. His voice just came from some sort of voice box installed in his throat.

Fox's stomach sank, but he knew what he had to do. He could see the misery that Wolf was in. No one deserved what he was forced to go through, but Fox had to know something. "Why did you save me?"

Wolf's good eye rolled upward, looking up at the vulpine, "Because you were right all along."

The lupine slid his thumbs over Fox's and forced the trigger back.

A gunshot rang out, and Wolf collapsed before Fox. His body convulsed and contorted upon the floor until finally, he laid limp. His eyes went blank, and his mechanical body shut down.

He was finally free from his suffering.

This was the second time Fox killed Wolf O'Donnell, but there wasn't any glory in this. Not anymore.

"Fox." Falco calmly called from the Land Master.

The vulpine turned around, and holstered his weapon.

"Come on man, let's go." Falco said. He saw what had happened, and now wouldn't be the best time to yell at his Captain.

Suddenly the sound of a thunderous explosion rocked the bank tower. Everything around them started shaking violently.

The explosives were detonated. This building was going to collapse any moment.

"ALRIGHT, I don't give a shit about your feelings anymore. MOVE YOUR FUCKING TAIL FOX!"

Fox ran for the Landmaster and climbed up into the cockpit. The main hatch closed as he took his place in the front seat. He pressed a few buttons and disabled the autopilot.

"Sever lacerations and fractures detected on both passengers. Administering morphine now." The ships A.I. chimed.

A mechanical arm emerged from the head rest of Falco and Fox's seat. It jammed an auto-injecting syringe into their necks and released the drug.

The both let out a sigh of relief as their pain was eased.

"Alright Falco, HERE WE GO!"

Fox grabbed hold of the controls, and punched the throttle.

The Land Master roared to life once more and lurched forward slamming Fox and Falco into the backs of their seats.

The steel supports of the building were starting to give way and the ceiling above was crashing down on them.

"HOLD ON!!" Fox yelled.

Fox dove the Landmaster right off the side of the crumbling bank tower.

"SHIT, BRACE YOURSELF!" The vulpine ordered.

They were headed right for another building, and there was no way to redirect the tank.

Behind them the Corneria Bank Tower started to tip over, sending itself on a crash course into another office spire.

Fox could barely keep the Landmaster under control as they plowed through another abandon sky scraper hundreds off feet above the city's underbelly. Everything was shaking like crazy due to the forces of hundreds of thousands off tons of concrete and steel crashed to the ground.

Even over the roar of the Landmaster's main thruste,r they could hear the moan of the bending steel supports as the towers crashed to ground like dominoes.

"THE WHOLE FUCKING CITY IS COMING DOWN FOX!" Falco yelled.

"YEAH I KNOW! SHUT UP!" Fox drove the tank through the other side of another office building and fired off the bottom hover thrusters.

They went skyward, before crashing right into another building.

"All power to hover thrusters!" Fox commanded.

"Affirmative." The Landmaster's A.I responded.

They could feel the G's they were pulling increase as the velocity of their climb increased.

Soon they were above the city's sky line and landed upon another towering structure.

Fox rotated the tank around, and they saw the destruction Magnus left behind.

A massive dust cloud swallowed the downtown area as they could see the tops of the sky scrapers collapse to the ground beneath the light of the full moon.

It was fortunate that this part of the city was abandon, but the cost and manpower it would take to clean up this mess was far beyond what this city could supply.

"Unidentified aircraft located." The Landmaster informed Fox.

A holo-display appeared before Fox, showing a lone helicopter trying to leave the city.

"Slippy!" Fox opened the com link, "Confirm that target!"

"_It's Magnus for sure! That chopper took off from the bank tower as soon as the explosives detonated." _

"Fox."

The vulpine looked over his shoulder, back at Falco.

"Let's make that son of a bitch pay, in spades," said Falco.

"Thought you would never ask." Fox punched the throttle.

__

__

Magnus watched from the side of his chopper, as the down town area fell to the ground.

He smiled at the wake of destruction he left behind, and felt a sense of victory.

"You through you could stop me did you? You didn't even come close Fox McCloud. Now you are forever buried in the ruins of the very city you fought for."

The ape turned to the pilot, "Take us to our ship, we are done on this planet."

Suddenly a choir of emergency alarms sang out.

"WHAT?! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Magnus demanded to know.

The pilot brought up a holo-panel, telling him the emergency.

"SHIT WE GOT INCOMING!" The pilot yelled. "HOLD ON!"

He jerked the flight stick, and stomped down one off the rotor pedals, causing the chopper to make a quick spin.

A massive ball of plasma energy flew by the side of the helicopter, almost smashing right into them.

"Where did that come from?" Magnus yelled.

The ape peered out of the window of the choppers cockpit and saw the source of the energy blast.

A lone Landmaster tank, skipping rooftop to rooftop, and quickly gaining on them.

"WHAT?! HOW CAN THIS BE! WHY WON'T HE JUST DIE?!" Magnus slammed his fist on the helicopters flight console. "ENGAGE THE TARGET!"

"But sir! We..."

"HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME! JUST DO IT! OR I WILL DO IT MYSELF!"

The pilot obeyed and changed his heading. He dove for the city below, and charged right for the Land Master.

"You got their attention Fox! There coming right for us!" Falco alerted his Captain.

"I know, I know. Hold on," replied the vulpine.

Now alarms were sounding off in the cockpit of the Land Master.

"Incoming!" Falco yelled.

Dozens of stinger missiles were launched from the incoming helicopter. They flew in a scattered pattern towards the Tank.

"Activate anti-missile defense system!" Fox barked.

"Complying," The Landmaster responded.

Two small plasma turrets emerged from the side of the Land Master, and opened fire incoming threat.

They took down more than half of the incoming missiles. The rest made their mark and slammed into the Land Master, as it was soaring through the air towards another roof top.

The tank shook violently and emergency alarms rang out with each explosive impact.

The chopper hovered right over the top of them.

"Don't lose them Fox!" said Falco.

The vulpine did a 180 degree turn, punched the throttle, and charged another plasma round.

"Target confirmed." The tank informed Fox.

They dove off the side of the building and fired off the charged energy round from the Landmaster's main cannon.

"Come on...Come on..." The both held their breath as the green sphere screamed towards it target.

Impact.

As the chopper was trying to change its heading to make another pass on the Land Master, it was grazed but the plasma shot.

It tore into one of the choppers missile launchers, causing it to explode, and ripped through the undercarriage of the aircraft.

"SHIT! WE ARE HIT!!" Magnus' pilot cried out. "WE ARE GOING DOWN!"

The chopper was starting to spin out of control and the pilot fought with all his might to keep it from tumbling through the air. Every alarm imaginable was sounding off with in the cockpit of the helicopter.

"Keep her steady! I'm going to finish this!" Magnus unbuckled his harness and climbed into the back of the helicopter.

"What are you doing?! Are you insane?!" The pilot yelled at this leader.

The mad ape made his way over to a large weapons case and opened it up. It housed a rocket launcher, and two anti-tank rounds.

Magnus smiled, "It always pays off to be prepared."

Fox and Falco watched the chopper lose altitude as it spiraled to the ground.

"NICE ONE FOX!" Falco cheered. "WE NAILED HIM!"

Within the falling chopper, Magnus mounded the rocket launcher upon his shoulder.

Finally the pilot stopped the aircraft from spinning out of control, but they were still losing altitude at a steady pace.

"That blast ripped a hole in the gas tank! We are losing oil as well!" He informed Magnus.

The ape replied, "Just keep it steady."

How they were below the sky line, buildings surrounding them from every angle.

"_Where might you be, Star Fox_," Magnus asked himself.

Then without warning, the Landmaster exploded through another building about 200 yards away, heading right for the chopper.

"Excellent." Magnus took aim and fired the rocket. The force of the massive weapon caused the ape to lose his footing. He fell on his back, and the rocket launcher slid across the floor the helicopter.

"Incoming anti-tank rocket." The Landmaster informed its pilots.

They could see the glow of the rockets booster as it screamed through the air, leaving a vapor trail behind as it headed for its target.

"SHIT FOX, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! " Falco yelled out.

The vulpine threw the tank into a barrel roll as it flew through the air, just before the rocket slammed into them. It passed by but only inches from the bottom of the tanks hull.

The rocket slammed into the building behind them, causing a massive explosion on impact, blowing out thousands of windows surrounding the Landmaster.

Fox fired off the hover thrusters and slowed the tanks decent, and fired off a final energy blast.

Magnus climbed to his feet in disbelief and braced himself against the side of the chopper, "AHHHH!!"

The plasma round tore the tail of the Chopper clean off, causing it to spin completely out of control.

It spun like a top, crashing to the ground hundreds of feet below.

Magnus hung on for his life as the he watched the streets below become closer and closer.

The chopper slammed into the side of a building about fifty feet from the ground and then dove nose first, right into the middle of street. The rotor blade was torn to shreds as it ripped into the asphalt, and sliced into the abandon vehicles littered in the street.

"Target...Destroyed."

--

--

Magnus' eye's slid open. His body was in screaming pain.

He looked around, and found himself still inside the destroyed aircraft. He was lying on the ceiling, the chopper was on its back.

He looked himself over, and saw his arm was broken. It was bent completely backwards at the elbow.

Blood ran down his face as he crawled over to the cockpit. He found the pilot, still strapped into his seat, hanging upside down.

He was dead, a blood stained busted windshield before him. A pool of crimson red, gathered below the dead pilot.

"You did well brother." Magnus said. "You served your empire well."

The ape laughed to himself, "You see Fox...You can't kill me. I'm still breathing. You haven't won yet."

Magnus managed kick open the co-pilots door, and crawled into the street.

As he slowly made his way out of the fallen helicopter, he saw something coming towards him.

A pair of blinding headlights approached his position.

His vision was blurred, his hearing was muffled, and he could barely make out what it could possibly be.

He managed to get to his feet, and held up his good arm, shielding his eyes from the bright beams of light.

His hearing started to return, and he could make out the low rumble of what was much larger than something that usually patrolled the streets.

Whatever was moving towards him came to a stop. The sounds of a hydraulic hatch could be heard.

Then he could see a dark silhouette moving towards him from the light, through the smoke and dust caused by the chopper crash.

It was the silhouette of a fox.

"No...No you can't do this." Magnus pulled his pistol from his coat but before he could even lift his weapon, a gunshot rang out.

His weapon flew from his hand, and then two more shots were fired and drilled right into his chest. Blood spurted from the ape as the bullets hit him.

Magnus cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, with his arms to his side. Sounds of bullet casings rang out as they bounced off the broken city street.

Next thing he knew, Fox McCloud stood before him; bloody and bruised He held a gun in his hand, and had an unsympathetic look upon his face.

"Ah, Fox McCloud." Magnus let out a sickening laugh, "The great hero of war. Come to finally bring me into custody?"

The vulpine pushed the gun against the apes head, "I'm no hero."

Fox pulled the trigger and killed Magnus.

The ape fell flat on his back, as blood poured from the bullet wound. Fox dropped the weapon and watched as Magnus drew his last breath.

It was finally over.

But at what cost? Half of the city was completely destroyed. Maybe if Fox only listened too Sergeant Richards and took down Magnus at the hospital, this disaster might have been avoided.

None of that really mattered anymore and Magnus was dead.

The wind blew through Fox's fur as he stood in the moonlight. The sky was nearly clear, the storm had past long ago.

He could see the Great Fox still circling the city up in the sky.

Falco climbed out of the Landmaster and joined Fox at his side, looking down at the dead ape.

"Bastard had it coming to him." Falco said. "Mission fucking accomplished."

"_Fox! Fox are you alright? What's your status? Did you catch Magnus?" _Slippy asked over the com link.

Falco answered, "Yeah, we got em. Fox shot him in the fucking head."

"_Oh....well. Mission accomplished?" _

"Yeah, I guess." Fox replied.

Falco shook his head, "Damn Fox, you really done it now. If this guy is as important as they say he is...or _was, _it's safe to say we are pretty screwed. A lot of people are going to be after us now Fox, good guys, and the bad."

Suddenly they were surrounded by the sounds of screeching tires. From every angle came Cornerian military transports; their bright headlights blinding Fox and Falco.

Falco sighed, "Late to the party, as always."

Troops poured out of the hummers, plasma rifles drawn and ready. They surrounded the two mercenaries.

"MOVE, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" It was Sergeant Richards.

The black wolf pushed through his men and found Fox and Falco, standing before the dead body of Magnus Veridan.

He walked up to Fox with his teeth bared in anger. "Do you have any idea what you have just done? Now all our leads our dead! He could have taken us right to the rest of his subordinates! Now we have nothing to go off on."

Fox looked down at the dead ape, and then back up at the wolf. "That's _your _problem. Maybe next time, you will think before you drag us into something. Now get _out of my face." _

The vulpine looked over at Falco, "Come on, let's go."

The small crowd of soldiers moved out of the way of the Star Fox members, and allowed them to leave.

"What? You are just going to let them leave? Apprehend them!" Richards barked. "That's an order!!"

They ignored him; they had more respect for the two mercenaries than their Sergeant at the moment.

Fox and Falco walked along the moonlit cracked streets of Corneria City, back to the Landmaster, and leaving the distraught Sergeant still yelling at his men, far behind. Their uniforms were torn, they were caked in dry blood, and they barely had the strength to hold themselves up.

Visions of today's events flashed through Fox's mind, the hospital bombings, the sniper, the shoot out at the bank, Wolf, and finally putting a bullet in Magnus' head.

It all happened so fast, all in one night. Truly the life of a mercenary.

"We did good." Fox said to his comrade.

Falco lifted one brow, "Yeah...we ain't dead. That usually means we did good."

"FOX! FALCO! HOLD UP!" They knew that voice.

The turned around, and saw Peppy running up to them.

"Christ, look at you two! You are a mess! Come on, we need to get you some god-damn medical attention already!"

Falco scrunched his brow, "Well look who it is. We wondered what happened to you."

"Boys, you have to understand! They took my communicator! They had me in custody!"

Fox held up his hand and silenced the hare.

"It's alright Peppy. We'll see you on the Great Fox."

They left the hare just standing, in disbelief.

The climbed into the Landmaster, and fired it up.

Fox activated the autopilot, "Landmaster, take us home."

Peppy watched as the tank spun around and drove off down the street; towards the Great Fox.

The bottom thrusters fired off, and it ascended into the night sky.

Fox and Falco peered over the side of the tank as it climbed towards the Great Fox. They could see the ruined city below; the dust from the collapsed builds starting to settle. Smoke rose from where Corneria Bank tower use to stand. The fires left over from the explosion that leveled the building started to spread through out the urban wasteland.

This was going to really devastate Corneria. Hope for the planet ever getting back on its feet was now farther away than ever before.

"It's a beautiful world," Muttered Falco.

The vulpine let out a heavy breath of air. He felt like he could pass out any moment from the pain that was returning to his body. The morphine had long ago worn off.

Fox sighed, "Maybe someday..."

Unfortunately, the harsh reality was that a mercenary's world, would always be, far from beautiful.

* * *

"_It's a beautiful world we live in  
A sweet romantic place  
Beautiful people everywhere  
The way they show they care makes me want to say  
It's a beautiful world  
Oh what a beautiful world  
For you_

_It's a wonderful time to be here  
It's nice to be alive  
Wonderful people everywhere  
The way they comb their hair makes me want to say  
It's a wonderful place  
Oh what a wonderful place  
For you,_

_Not me."_

* * *

**Woo! You made it! Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. This marks the end of season one. The beginning of next season (chapter 8) is scheduled for late January of 2009. **

**The words right beneath the chapter title are an excerpt from the song, "The Dead Flag Blues" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. **

**And the lyrics right above are from the cover version of "Beautiful world" By Rage Against The Machine.  
**

**Thanks again for reading everyone. This story would not exist today if it wasn't for all the awesome support I have been receiving. **

**Have a Great holiday and I'll see you all next year. **

**Keep it real,**

** Silenced Fox  
**


	9. Chapter 8 Season 2

**Thanks again for all the awesome reviews and support.**

**Keep it real,**

**-SilencedFox**

* * *

**Prologue**

_I am starting to think that killing Magnus was a really bad idea. I can't say I didn't enjoy it and in fact when I pulled the trigger, it seemed like the right thing to do. He nearly destroyed half the damn city, killed so many innocents, and had one of the biggest roles in Andross's army. That justified it enough in my head. But what bothers me the most was the fact I didn't even think twice about it. It would have been a much wiser decision to let the bastard live. We could have learned so much from him; or at least that's what they kept telling me. Those idiots, they really thought he would talk? Doesn't matter now, oh no, not one bit. I'm think I'm losing my mind. I can't trust anyone. Everyone is out to get us now. Watch the news, read a paper, and sure enough you will see our names somewhere. They put a spin on the story of us taking down Magnus. They made it seem that it was our fault entirely that the bank tower collapsed. They failed to mention that it would have destroyed anyway had we shown up or not. Now we have been labeled vigilantes that need to be stopped and brought to justice. We are on the run, and it seems like the whole system is against us. Well, that's not entirely true. The populous seems to be divided on what they really believe. Some say we are still the saviors of this system. Others will believe just about anything they are told and agree that we should be taken into custody before more, "tragic events" take place due to our, "carelessness, and disregard" for the peoples' safety. They made it look like we just did it for the money... Unfortunately, the way things are today for the Star Fox team, everything we do is for the money. We are running out of supplies and weapons; things we need to live. We grounded the Great Fox in a secret location on Fortuna. We cut a deal with one of our new clients to hide our ship in return for our services. We have been doing a lot of jobs since we left Corneria. Most of them for space pirates, or crime organizations down on the planets' surfaces. It's nothing to be proud of, but they pay good, and they couldn't care less if the entire Corneria Army is looking for us. As long as we get the job done. Weather it be destroying an outpost full of rival space pirates, or blowing up a weapons smuggling operation somewhere on Katina, they deliver on their promises. I can't help imagine what my father would think of me, what I have forced the team to become. We are going against everything he stood for and what principles he founded Star Fox on. The more I think about it though makes me realize that he would have done the same thing. He wouldn't have turned himself in, he wouldn't just give up and admit defeat. He would keep running, he would keep trying to find a way to make things right again. He would make everyone see we aren't the enemy. Yeah, you could say we are working for the "bad guys" on occasion. But we have never taken a contract that would cause us to draw our weapons on the innocent. I have no problem taking down a space pirates' rival to make a bit of extra cash. I guess you could say we have become more like Star Wolf with each job we take... I'm beginning to really doubt I really saw my father when I was stranded on Venom. If he's really out there somewhere in heaven or whatever you want to call it, watching over me, then why do I feel so alone? I never mentioned it to anyone, they would probably think I'm crazy, or say it was just a dream. It probably was anyway. So maybe it was a bad idea to kill Magnus after all. I can't really say what it was exactly that brought me to do it. Maybe he really did get the best of me and proved my morals could be thrown aside if I wanted them to be. I remember the smug look on his face just like it was yesterday. I remember pulling the trigger and watching him fall to the ground; the life drained from his eyes. I think the real reason I killed him was simply because he knew my father. And depending on how you knew my father, could very well make you a dead man. There's no going back now. Magnus is dead, and we're wanted men because of it. They aren't making much of an effort to take us down even though you hear everyday on the news they are one step closer to bringing us to justice. There hasn't been any direct attacks on us, but they get us where it really hurts. They suspended our accounts so we can't spend any money the army payed us. So acquiring supplies has become a real bitch. Almost everything we need we get from the space pirates now; for a price of course. I don't know why the army turned on us, and I don't know why they just won't let us live in peace. You think after all we did for the army, they would just leave us alone and call it even. But we get by, day by day, always looking over our shoulders. We take the jobs no one wants and deal with the scum of the universe just so we can get our hands on weapons and supplies; it's how we survive. It's getting difficult though, we can't make money nearly as fast as we need to spend it. Tensions are high and my team is falling apart at the seams. I think it's time we dig a little deeper and try to find out why General Pepper wants us out of the picture. The people we work for, they got connections. They know people, who know people, who will talk. It's been __one year__ since the bank tower incident back on Corneria. The Lylat system has been at peace for a year as well. Unfortunately, that peace once again has run dry. As it turns out, Magnus was a man of his word after all. He didn't bring at traditional war forth however; this is something entirely different. Small calculated attacks are being played out in almost every city on every planet. They are trying to break down the foundation of our civilization brick by brick until it collapses in on itself once and for all. Everyone is scared, no one can sleep peacefully during times like these. It doesn't matter what planet you are on and the army hasn't been much of a help either. They say they are doing all they can and they are taking every precaution to prevent these, "acts of terrorism." But people all over the Lylat System are still dying in these attacks, Corneria is still a wasteland, and we can't even talk to the Corneria Army with out the risk of them finding us and taking us in....._

_I can't just stand by and let this happen._

_When I walk the streets of the other planets' cities, usually trying to find work or an arms dealer, I find people gathered around talking about the attacks on other planets, and how the Army is doing nothing to help them. I always hear someone cry out about Star Fox. How we are the only ones that could save them. However that one person is usually cast out because they suggested a band of mercenaries were their only chance for survival in a time of chaos._

_I think it's time Star Fox proved their worth once again._

* * *

**Chapter 8: Broken Wings**

Macbeth, 7:12am.

A lone figure walked through the hallways of an old abandon building deep within the city of Macbeth. The building was an industrial structure complete with stained concrete floors, walls, and rusted metal piping running in all directions. The air was thick with dust and the smell of many different fumes passed through the nose of the lone individual.

The shadowy figure was draped with a hooded trench coat that covered his entire body; it was clear he wanted to hide his identity from plain site.

He approached a large metal door and pounded his fist on it. With each hit the clashing sounds of the metal door rang through the hallways.

A small rectangular peephole slid open on the door.

The hooded figure was met by a set of squinted eyes peering at him from the other side of the peephole.

Then the pair of eyes seemed to relax and light up with a sense of welcome, "I have been expecting you! Please let me welcome you inside my humble abode."

The sounds of many different types of locks being disengaged could be heard on the other side.

The door swung open to reveal a warthog, dressed in military style cargo pants and wearing nothing but a combat vest over his chest. The hog was a massive creature indeed. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall and must have weighed at least over three hundred pounds. He also had but one gnarled tusk coming from the inside of his mouth. The other tusk seemed to have been broken clean off.

The warthog stepped aside from the doorway and welcomed in his guest, "Please, make yourself at home." He said with a deep tone in his voice.

The hooded individual walked through the entryway and the warthog closed the door behind him, reseting all the locks in place.

The large industrial room was littered with all sorts of weapons. Tables upon tables were lined up with every gun and rifle imaginable. The boarded off windows, and the flickering florescent lights above made it an unsettling environment to reside in. Calling it a "home" barely fit the description at all.

"My friend, it is good to see you," the warthog took a seat behind an old rusted office desk, "Please, take a seat." The swine spoke with a thick accent.

With both hands the mercenary pulled back his hood, revealing the striped head of none other than Fox McCloud.

The vulpine took a seat on the other side of the desk, across from the warthog, "Dimitri."

"So comrade," The swine began, "How may I be of service."

Fox sighed, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees,"I just need some advice."

The warthog leaned back in his chair scratching his chin,"You know Fox, many times you have come here seeking only weapons, but now you come to seek conversation?"

"Yeah I know, it's strange, but you are the only one I trust these days." Fox replied.

"Alright." The hog leaned forward resting his arms on the desk, "What are the burdens that plague your soul."

Fox let out a heavy breath, "I just can't take all this running anymore, and I can't stomach what I have turned my team into. I even feel like they are starting to turn on me. All they talk about is how we should just turn ourselves in, and maybe cut a deal with the General."

The hog folded his hands together and nodded his head, "I see, and you don't believe in what they tell you?"

Fox shook his head, "No, that would be giving up! I just can't let them win like that. I would rather fight against Magnus' men on my own terms than be behind bars at an army base. And I still say _Magnus_ because we haven't even figured out who they are being led by today."

Fox pounded his fist on the table, "I just don't get it!!" He yelled. "Why are they doing this to us?"

Dimitri replied, "To be honest comrade, I do not know. Why the government would slander heroes such as yourselves is quite puzzling."

"They even froze all the money we received for the Andross contract and taking Magnus down! They pretty much used us from the start! Shit, I just don't know what to do." Fox buried his face in his hands.

"You seek revenge?" The warthog asked.

The vulpine looked up at Dimitri and shook his head, "No, that won't fix anything. All that would do is prove that we really are what the army has labeled us."

"Which is?" The hog inquired.

Fox sighed, "Pirates, thieves, murderers, vigilantes. The list goes on."

"I suppose it wouldn't be easy being called those things. Especially being a hero such as yourself."

Fox scrunched his brow, "Would you stop calling me a hero? I'm...I'm no hero."

"No? Why do reject such an honorable title?"

"Because I fought the battle against Andross for revenge. That doesn't make me a hero at all."

The warthog laughed, "You know comrade, you really should stop being so hard on yourself! So what, you fought for revenge. We all have reasons for fighting. Just because yours was a personal reason, doesn't make you any less of a hero. You saved billions of lives Fox. Who knows what would have happened if Andross had his way and took over this system. Fox, For all I know, you have save _my_ life from the cruel hands of fate."

"I know what would have happened. It would have been total annihilation of our kind. Magnus said it himself. He claimed that it was the apes time to reclaim this system for themselves. To rule over it like their ancestors did ages ago."

"I have trouble believing they could accomplishing something such as that. The Andross war machine is not even capable of taking over a single planet as of now. I mean, here on Macbeth, Venom is but our neighbor and this planet is still free from their tyranny," Dimitri added.

Fox nodded, "Yeah, that's true. But these attacks that are happening all over the system are killing thousands of people, and they are happening almost every week! I can't just sit here and let it happen! I can't just do nothing about it!"

"And why is that? Why do you not wish to just stand by and let the military take care of this problem."

"The military isn't doing a damn thing! They don't have the resources to track Magnus' men so they could prepare for the next attack! All they do is give the people false sense of security."

"You know what's funny?" The hog asked.

"What could _possibly_ be funny right now." Fox jeered.

"You go on and on about how you want to save the people of Lylat, and yet you deny yourself the title of hero. I think you need to make peace with yourself, Fox, before you can really decide what actions you are going to take."

Fox shrugged as he let out a low frustrated growl, " Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You are the only one that comes to my shop with a heart full of remorse. These other pirates and thugs that buy my weapons do not share these traits. They could care less if our world burnt to the ground, but you, you always seem like you have a weight upon your shoulders."

"I just...I never thought, that the Star Fox team would be doing the work we do now. I always thought we would be doing missions solely for the General himself; work that was truly honorable. But now....well you know what kind of work we do. I can't even imagine doing the kind of work _you_ do!"

"What, selling weapons? Trust me Fox, even I didn't foresee myself becoming an illegal arms merchant. But just like you, a twist of fate lead me down the wrong path. It use to bother me; selling weapons. But a wise man once said weapons are morally neutral until we apply them. It's only when they are used for good or evil, that they become good or evil. I live my life by those words Fox. I sell guns, not tools of evil."

Fox scratched his head, "Dimitri, what the hell did any of that mean?"

The warthog laughed, "Fox, you need to find a philosophy in life to live by, and apply yourself to it. Living without purpose can be quite wearing on the soul."

"Yeah, I guess." Fox hung is head.

Dimitri could tell the vulpine was quite troubled from the amount of stress he was under. He had to think of something that would at least set Fox in the right direction. Even the hog would admit his advice is a bit cryptic at times, but something did come to his mind that might inspire the young mercenary leader.

"Fox." Dimitri began, "Let me tell you a story about the war times of the Lylat system."

Fox lifted his head and rested it on his fist, "Alright, lets hear it."

The hog cleared his throat, "During the great Lylat war, when Andross unleashed his army, and many of his horrific creations upon our land, I was part of an underground operation that sheltered people from the fighting. Since most of the bloodshed took place among the streets of the cites, and blazed a burning path of destruction through places people called home, the innocent needed places to hide, until the fighting subsided. I remember my fellow comrades and myself managed to round up a few hundred people in the basement of this building."

Fox raised his brow in surprise, "You really did that?"

Dimitri nodded his head, "Yes Fox. Many of the surrounding buildings in this area, which are now abandoned, were once the sanctuaries of the victims of war. We were very lucky to not be found by Andross's soldiers, the murderous scum."

The hog sighed, "I remember just as if it was yesterday. Watching the families huddle together in fear as the sounds of falling bombs shook the very foundation of this building. It was just horrible to think that these innocent people lost everything within just a blink of an eye. All their hopes and dreams, gone, with only a moments notice. Everything in their lives became but an uncertainty. They didn't know if they would live to see another day, or if they would ever see their loved ones ever again. Every breath they took was a blessing to them, they didn't dare take their lives for granted during those terrible times."

Fox sighed, "I know what that feels like, I know what it means to lose ever-."

"FOX!" Dimitri interrupted with a shout, "You say you are familiar with loss, but you fail to realize that you have never lost _everything_."

The vulpine was caught off guard by the hogs stern response.

Dimitri continued, "You see Fox, you still have your friends, you still have your team. You never lost those things and you have never had to go through life without people who cared for you. But then again, I know that you lost your father and your mother when you were very young. When you are but a small kit, I'm sure your mother and Father were the two things that made up your entire world, and when those two people were suddenly taken from you, I'm sure it felt like you had lost everything."

"Just get to the point Dimitri," said Fox, sounding a bit frustrated.

The hog sighed, and tried to calm himself, "Look, I find it hard to believe that you only fought for revenge Fox. You yourself were once forced to go through a time of loss and grieving and I could only imagine that you fought through hundreds of thousands of Andross's fighters just so no one else would have to become victims of loss. Then...and _then_ you claim that you are no hero! Fox, you are a _savior_ to these people!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Fox slammed his fist on the table and stood from his seat. "A hero would have never done some of the things I am responsible for."

The hog slowly stood from his chair, towering over the angered vulpine, and looking him dead in the eyes, "You want a philosophy to live by? I have one for you because you seem to have a real problem with this."

"Oh really? What could that be."

Suddenly the hog reached over and grabbed Fox by the collar of his shirt and drug him over the desk. With one arm he lifted the vulpine by his neck and slammed him against the wall behind him.

Fox struggled to break free from the power grasp of the warthog.

The vulpine choked for air, "Dimitri! What are you doing?"

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Dimitri yelled. His booming voice caused the vulpine's ears to flip

backwards in fear.

"Wha...what?!" Fox replied totally confused.

"I ask, _WHO_ are you?!"

"I'm.....I'm Fox McCloud!" He choked out.

"You are correct comrade! You are Fox McCloud! Leader of the Star Fox team! The son of the great James McCloud! The slayer of the evil Andross and the savior of the Lylat system! You want a philosophy to live by Fox? Then I have one for you : Never... forget... who, you, are."

He dropped the vulpine.

Fox fell in a heap with his back against the wall, gasping for air holding his neck.

"You see Fox." Dimitri began as he turned away from the vulpine, "The problem that you posses is that you tend to forget who you are. You forget where you come from, and you also seem to forget what you stand for. Once you clear your mind of all these uncertainties you have about yourself. It will be easier to choose your path."

Fox just sat in a slump on the floor, and looked up at the hog as he tried to catch his breath.

"I also remember during the war time, when we sheltered people here, the fighting outside these walls began to intensify. The ground shook with a thunderous roar as if an earthquake was shaking the land. The people screamed in fear as they huddled together with their eyes clasped shut, waiting for the moment an enemy warhead would come crashing through the ceiling above."

Dimitri turned towards Fox and looked him dead in the eyes once more, "Then suddenly, with the sounds of fighter engines soaring and laser fire over head, the fighting came to an abrupt halt and It became dead silent. A fellow comrade and myself climbed the stairs to the roof of this building to see what had happened. When we made it to the roof, we saw the reason for the sudden silence. As far as the eye could see were the smolder wreckages of Andross's fighters and war machines as smoke stacks rose from all over the city. And in the distance, we could see your Arwings pushing onwards, destroying everything that dared to come between you and victory. We could only imagine you were heading towards the Andross weapons facility that was rumored to exist on this planet.

"Yeah." Fox climbed to his feet with a cough. "We were."

Dimitri smiled at Fox, "You have no idea how much hope you bring the people of Lylat. It doesn't matter what army, or government say about you, because it doesn't change what you did for this system."

Fox straighten his red bandanna around his neck, "You _really_ like to get your point across."

"Well, you are quite the stubborn one. Sometimes you need something more than words to make your point more a little clearer."

Fox just sighed as he nodded his head in agreement. Dimitri was right about what he had said. Fox had trouble with remembering who he was, and where he came from. Although things are hard today for the Star Fox team, and they aren't exactly what they use to be, Fox just can't forget all the good he has done for the Lylat system. This didn't make things any clearer for the vulpine however. He still didn't know what to do about finding answer to why the government wants to take them down. More importantly he had no idea to finding answers on who is still leading the underground Andross movement. He had no resources when it came to finding out intel such as that because they were shut out from the Cornerian Army.

"I just don't know where to go from here Dimitri. I don't have a damn clue how find the answers that I'm looking for."

The vulpine sighed, "I wish I could just go home, back to Corneria. But now, the way things are, it's just not that simple.

Dimitri nodded, "I hear they are quarantining the planet because of some kind of sickness that has plagued the people of Corneria City."

"Sometimes, I feel like I was never able to save the one thing I fought so hard for. Corneria is nothing but a wasteland now. They were never able to get the city going in the right direction so the people could try to rebuild their lives." Fox explained.

A moment of silenced passed between the two.

Fox walked over to a near by table to take a look at Dimitri's wears.

"Well Fox, the best I can do for you still is sell you weapons. I gave you my advice, and now it is up to you weather you want to follow it or not."

Fox picked up a large pistol from the table before him. A tag hung from that said "Desert Eagle."

He pulled back the slide, and examined the weapon. He had a bit more knowledge about ballistic weapons these days since all his clients supplied his team with them. It almost seemed the era of energy weapons had come to an end overnight.

Dimitri stood next to the vulpine, "You know, you can't solve all your problems with a gun."

Fox let the slide lose and it snapped back into place, "Yeah, I know, but they help."

The warthog just laughed, "So are we going to do business or not?"

Fox smiled, "Sure, I guess I'm in the market for some new toys."

Then something caught the vulpine's attention, his ears shifting to the side towards what set off his senses.

He placed the gun slowing on the table and gave Dimitri a concerned look.

"What is it comrade?" Dimitri asked.

Fox put one finger up to his own snout, signaling to be quiet.

The vulpine slowly walked over to the large steel door and put his ear up against it.

He could hear muffled voices on the other side and the shuffling of heavily armed men. Sounds of what could possibly be a demo team rigging the door could be heard as well.

Could be the cops, could be worse.

It was time to leave.

Fox stepped back from the door and drew his side arm; his trusty modified blaster.

His new blaster was a half ballistic half energy weapon that was designed by Dimitri. It had to barrels, one that fired a laser round, and another that fired a bullet.

The combination was deadly.

Fox hurried back over to his friend, "There's someone out there, and it sounds like they are rigging the door."

"Then you must go comrade! Here, I can remove one of the obstructions from the windows and you can pass through there."

Dimitri grabbed a crowbar from his desk.

But before he could even turn towards the boarded up windows, four small booms rang out, and the large steel door was blown right from its hinges.

The door fell to the ground and slid a few feet.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" A commanding voice yelled out.

A small team of five men dressed in full assault swat gear moved in the room with their weapons drawn.

"HANDS UP! DON'T FUCKING MOVE OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" The head officer screamed at the top of his lungs.

Three of the swat officers moved in on Dimitri who was standing at his desk, and the other two slowly approached Fox, who was standing to the right of the hog, over by the weapons tables.

"FOX, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Dimitri commanded.

The two SWAT officers approaching Fox aimed down their sights, "Don't even think about it McCloud. You ain't going anywhere."

Fox looked around, and there was clearly only one option.

"Sorry guys, gotta jet." In a flash Fox turned and made a dash for the boarded up windows.

"WAIT! STOP!" An officer yelled out.

Fox came closer and closer to his exit.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY! LIGHT HIM UP!" A voice yelled out from behind him.

The two officers suppressed the triggers on their assault rifles and let the bullets fly.

Fox tucked his head down as the bullets ripped into the fast approaching sheet of wood and chipped away the old concrete wall bordering the window.

The vulpine took a quick glance at his exit once more. _This is gonna hurt_.

He jumped shoulder 1st at the window crashing through; splintering the wood protecting the glass panel he shattered soon after.

--

--

The rising sun painted a orange haze over Macbeth's horizon. The rays of blazing ball of light shined through a dirt covered, cracked windshield of an old car.

Falco Lombardi, sitting in the driver's seat of the beat-up vehicle reached up and flipped open the sun visor above him, trying to block out the sun.

The car was parked in a back ally across from the industrial building Fox was meeting the arms dealer in.

Falco glanced down at an old news paper he was reading as the radio blasted.

He was growing impatient waiting for his Captain to return, and hopefully with new weapons in hand.

He lowered the newspaper from his eyes one more time and glanced at the clock, "Christ Fox, what the hell is taking so long?"

Falco glanced up from the clock and squinted through the windshield to see if maybe Fox was on his way back.

Nothing.

"God dammit Fox COME ON!"

But before the avian could return to his reading material he saw something that made is eyes grow wide in surprise.

From across the street he saw a figure explode out of one of the windows on third floor of the industrial structure.

It was Fox.

"Ooooh shit." Falco said to himself.

He watched Fox tumble through the air and slam into the fire escape on the adjacent building one story down.

"That's not good." Falco blankly stated.

The vulpine managed to grab hold of the scaffolding with one arm. Now he was dangling with a two story drop below him.

Falco just watch with a sly smile on his face, his wings still grasping the news paper.

Then Fox lost his grip and dropped straight down towards the ground below-

Falco held his breath as his eyes followed the free-falling vulpine. _Shit, please don't break your __legs._

-Right into a open dumpster.

Trash erupted from the dumpster as the mercenary crashed into it.

Then a few seconds later Fox's head popped out of the dumpster and Falco gave a sigh of relief.....and then looked down at his news paper once more.

Across the street Fox scrambled over the edge of the dumpster and planted his feet on solid ground, "Well," Fox was short of breath, "That....wasn't so bad, I guess I'm okay."

The vulpine glanced up at the window he passed through and saw one of the SWAT officers looking down at him, "Shit he made it! Come on! New orders we gotta take him! Alive! Secure the warthog as well!"

"Dammit, I'll get you out Dimitri, don't worry." Fox said to himself.

The vulpine looked to his right and saw his get-away vehicle with Falco behind the wheel.

Fox ran for the car, but almost instantly a sharp pain shot from his shoulder and then across his chest, "Ahhhh, FFFuck. Just had to smash the window with your bad shoulder didn't you Fox?"

He fought through the pain and sprinted towards his ticket out of here.

Falco still looking down at his news paper, was startled by the sound of screeching tires. He quickly looked up from his reading to see Fox with his arms outstretched at a civilian vehicle that nearly ran him over.

The driver, an old feline, hung out the window and cursed at Fox, "Watch it you freakin' moron!"

Fox just shrugged it off and continued his dash towards his safe haven.

Falco shook his head and looked down once more.

Then a few seconds later Fox was pounding his paw on the hood of their ride, trying to get Falco's attention.

The vulpine threw open the passenger side door, and quickly fell into the seat.

Fox slammed the door shut, "Alright, let's go." He said, out of breath, as if nothing had happened.

Falco didn't even look over at his captain, "No guns?"

"Uh...No." Fox swallowed hard and continued to pant heavily.

"I'm pretty sure we came here for guns. Didn't we talk about it? I distinctly remember you saying, Falco, oh shit, I can't wait to get some new guns." Falco said the last quote in a monotone manner.

"Falco, start the fucking car, and get us out of here!"

"Now you are yelling at me. See Fox, this isn't how you should treat your fellow co-workers."

"Falco, did you not see what just happened?!"

Falco quickly glanced at Fox with a serious look, "Yeah, yeah I did. You crossed the god damn street without looking both ways, what kind of leader are you?!"

Fox just blankly stared at the avian, "I'm going to kill you."

"What?"

"I'm going to reach over, wrap my hands around your feathered neck, and strangle the ever-loving shit out of you, if you don't start this damn car right now, and drive us out of here."

Falco just raised one brow, "You're bleeding."

Fox looked down at his open paw, and watched a drop of crimson red trickle off the end of his snout and land in his palm.

The vulpine just gave a heavy sigh and fell back in his seat.

Falco cracked a smile, "That was pretty smooth flying Fox." The avian said, trying not to burst out laughing.

Fox slowly turned his head towards the chuckling bird, "So you saw all of it."

Falco nodded, "Oh yeah, it was _classic_."

"And you just sat here."

"No, I was reading."

Fox's eyes darted around, and then locked with Falco's again, "When the _fuck_ did you start reading?"

"Hey man, I'm an intellectual. I keep it real. I gotta know what's going on in the world."

Fox clenched his teeth, "Okay, THAT'S IT!"

"Huh?"

Fox dove at Falco and grabbed the avian by the throat.

The enraged vulpine had an iron grip around Falco's neck and jerked him back and forward, "WHAT....IS...WRONG...WITH....YOU!"

Falco choked for air, as he tried to pry Fox's grip from his neck, "Fox...I think...You might be...taking me...too seriously. ACK!"

Then something startled the two bickering mercenaries causing them to nearly leap out of their skin. A large armored swat truck, with the horn and siren blaring came barreling down the ally way and it wasn't stopping.

Falco pushed Fox back into his seat and fumbled for the ignition, "HOLY SHIT! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS!"

"YOU THINK I DOVE OUT THE WINDOW FOR NOTHING?!" Fox yelled back, his voice cracking.

Falco got the car started and threw it into reverse, "GEE I DON'T KNOW, I THOUGHT YOU JUST LIKED TO MAKE FLASHY EXITS!"

"BUCKLE UP FOXIE!" Falco punched the pedal to the floor before Fox could follow his advice, naturally.

The vulpine fell forward smashing into the dashboard as the car bolted in reverse.

He looked up through the windshield as he pushed himself back into his seat; the swat truck was gaining fast.

Fox propped his feet up on the dash, and buckled himself in.

Falco had his arm over hanging over his seat as he looked through the back window, and guided their vehicle backwards down the ally, at full speed, "We are so screwed McCloud!"

"Just keep driving!" Fox ordered.

"Didn't plan on stopping!"

Fox's eyes grew wide, "Oh man, not good."

A swat officer emerged from the passenger side window of the truck, with a rifle in hand.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME!" Falco replied.

"Huh?" Fox turned to look out the back window, "Oh crap....."

They were heading right for a semi-truck that was driving across the street the ally way intersected with.

"SHIT, GET YOUR HEAD DOWN FOX!"

The two mercenaries ducked down low as they could as Falco drove the car right under the trailer of the semi.

It ripped the roof of the car clean off.

Then but seconds later the swat truck smashed in the trailer causing it to tumble over on its side.

Fox and Falco's vehicle was but a few feet from being crushed by the trailer as it smashed into the ground.

The two mercenaries were showered in broken glass, there was nothing but the morning sky above them now.

They both popped their heads up in disbelief.

"WE FUCKIN' MADE IT!" Falco cheered as he slammed on the breaks and brought the car to a stop.

"We ain't done yet!" Fox yelled as he pointed.

The swat truck drove around the crumpled trailer, smoke coming from its smashed in grill.

"So what's the plan Fox?" Falco asked.

"Let's head downtown, we can lose them there and hopefully find a new set of wheels."

"Good idea, our ride is a little run down."

The avian pushed the pedal to the floor causing the rear tires to screech.

They headed west, towards the heart of the broken down Macbeth metropolis. Given the desert setting of the planet, all the buildings were worn from the constant sand storms and harsh weather the climate brought year round. A dull pallet of grey and brown seemed to be the theme of this city. Old concrete structures rose from the cold desert floor, reaching towards the bleak sky's above. The worn and cracked streets complemented the abandoned market places scattered throughout the city.

It was all a blur however.

The old buildings of the industrial city rushed by as the two mercenaries pushed their wrecked vehicle to the limit.

Fox looked over his shoulder and saw the swat truck gaining on them once again, "Shit, they're back, Falco."

The avian glanced on the side view mirror that was barely hanging on to the door. He saw the large black assault vehicle becoming ever closer as they drove on.

The downtown area was fast approaching; the ominous looming buildings were in view.

They had to be careful though, as desolate as the city of Macbeth seemed, it did have quite a population.

Falco weaved in and out of civilian vehicles that were also driving along the city streets.

Onlookers from the streets and other cars stared as the mercenaries flew down the road with the top missing from their car, and the swat truck in hot pursuit.

Fox noticed they weren't alone, "Falco, be careful man, we don't want anyone getting hurt. Then they really will have a reason to lock us up."

Falco gave an annoyed glance, "Hey, shit happens, I'll do my best, alright?!"

Fox nodded and looked back once more at their pursuers, "Oh no..."

The avian glanced in the side mirror once more and saw a rifleman leaning out of the passenger side window once more. "Not good Fox."

Falco did his best to weave in and out of traffic, trying not to be an easy target.

The swat officer steadied his aim, and activated his laser sighting.

They were now minutes away from the heart of the city. They blasted through intersection after intersection, somehow catching all the green lights.

A gun shot rang out and soon after Falco nearly lost control of the car.

"Shit, he got one of the rear tires!" Falco yelled.

"Just keep driving!" Fox barked.

"Yes sir! Oh, and could you do me a favor?!" Falco replied.

"What is it Falco?" Fox yelled back.

"SHOOT BACK!!"

"You crazy?! I pull my gun, and he's going to blow my head off!"

"Oh come on, he isn't _that_ good of a shot."

Falco glanced in the side mirror just as the rifle man blew it off with a single round.

The avian's eyes grew wide, "Uh...on second thought, I think he's had a lot of practice."

The car jerked once more, as the rubber tore from the back-wheel. Sparks flew everywhere as the wheel ground against the road.

"Dammit!" The wheel jerked out of Falco's hands as they barreled towards another intersection.

This time the traffic light was red.

"HOLD ON FOX!" Falco yelled as they drew closer and closer to the cross traffic.

Fox braced himself, his feet against the dashboard.

They made it through the 1st set of lanes, but weren't as lucky for the opposite side.

A civilian vehicle slammed into the backside of Star Fox's vehicle, stalling the engine, and causing them to spin out.

The cityscape was a blur as Falco tried to get control of their car.

Finally they came to a stop on the corner of side walk, facing the intersection they failed to clear.

Falco's heart was about to leap out of his chest as he sat frozen behind the wheel, "You...you alright Fox?....Fox?"

The avian slowly glanced to his right, Fox was gone, there was nothing but an empty seat, and a torn safety belt.

"Shit!!! OH SHIT!!! FOX."

Falco threw open the driver door and stumbled into the street looking for his captain in a panic "Fox where are you?!" He cried out.

"Dude chill out! I'm right here."

Falco whipped around and saw Fox climbing out of the backseat of their car.

The avian let out a sigh of relive, "God dammit Fox, I thought you were roadkill! How the hell you get back there?"

Fox planted both feet on the asphalt and brushed off his coat, "Hell if I know, I think I blacked out when we were hit. It's nice to know you give a shit about me though."

Falco shook his head, "Yeah whatever Fox-."

Suddenly the sounds of blaring car horns could be heard from all angles.

The car they ran into them made it's way onto the wrong side of the road, causing a chain-reaction.

They watched as car after car spun out of control trying to avoid crashing into one another.

Then the blaring siren of the swat truck rang out as it just entered the intersection, barreling towards the two mercenaries.

They widened their stance as the armored vehicle came closer and closer.

Fox and Falco turned to run, both glancing to their right as they did making sure they weren't about to be hit by cross traffic.

However they saw a city bus rocketing down the street, the driver not paying any attention to the road.

The two dove for the pavement as the bus T-boned the swat truck a good twenty feet behind them.

All the windows of the bus blew out as it crumpled from the intense crash. The bus's back wheels lifted from the gourd upon impact, tossing its passengers all over the floor.

The swat truck was totally disabled. It was going nowhere with a twelve ton bus lodged in the side of it. The officers inside the vehicle were all knocked unconscious from the collision.

Falco and Fox climbed to their feet, and turned towards the wreckage.

There was broken glass everywhere, the bus was full of people who were now probably injured from the crash. Crumbled cars littered the street on the opposite side. Some ran off the road, crashing into the buildings the lined the streets. Smoke plumes rose to the sky and the cries of injured innocents could be heard.

Falco's heart sank as he ran his wings through the feathers upon his head, "Oh man, oh man....This is not good. This not fuckin' good. Come on Fox, nows our chance, let's get out of here."

The vulpine stood beside his partner as his eye's fixated on the wrecked bus. He could see the people inside, crying out for help.

"No. We gotta help those people! Come on, let's go! Move!" Fox ran for the bus.

Falco just stood there in disbelief, "WHAT?! No Fox! We gotta leave right now! The police are going to show up any minute!"

Fox stopped dead in his tracks, and then marched back up to Falco, "Listen, because of us, all this happened," Fox motioned his arm towards all the twisted metal, "So you can either leave, or help me out. I know you hate it when I bark orders at you, and I also know it's rare that you actually follow any of them, so I'm giving you a choice this time."

Fox turned away and ran for the bus, leaving Falco behind him.

Falco his clenched his wing tips into fists, "What the fuck has gotten into you?! Oh, I'm sorry, what? You gonna wait for the cops and the uhh... the god damn paramedics to show up?! You gonna help load these people into the friggin' ambulances? You gonna make everything right? You think everyone is going to think you're a big fuckin' hero?! You and I _both_ know what's going to happen to us if we stick around. People are going to point fingers, we are gonna get cuffed, and then that's it; game over."

Fox turned towards the bus, with an undeniable guilt.

Once again, the vulpine twisted his head around, back at Falco. "You gonna help me or not?"

Falco just sighed as he rolled his eyes, his vision drifting away from his leader.

Suddenly Falco's eye's grew wide in surprise, then he squinted them trying to focus on what caught his attention, "What the...."

Fox raised one brow, "What? What is it?"

The avian raised his arm and pointed, "Across the street! On top of that building! I Think I saw someone up there."

Fox ran his vision across the roof tops of the many commercial buildings that lined the streets, "I....I don't see anyth- OH SHIT!"

A dark figure that appeared to be holding some sort of shoulder mounted weapon arose from his hiding spot on the rooftops.

**_SilencedFox Presents..._**

Next thing they knew a RPG was screaming through the air, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

Within only a second, the explosive hit its target.

The bus, still full of injured civilians, erupted in a massive blazing fireball.

The vulpine and Avian were catapulted through the air, away from the powerful blast.

_**A SilencedFox Production, in association with Snake Of The Rose Productions...**_

Fox helplessly tumbled out of control until he landed flat on his back against the concrete road. His momentum caused him to flip backwards on to his stomach after crashing down on his back.

The horrific event drained the life out of him, he could barely move.

He picked his head up, trying to make any sense of what happened.

His vision was blurry and slowly fading.

_**Written by SilencedFox86....**_

The sounds that flooded his ears were truly haunting. The screams of people burning to death, the slowly approaching sounds of sirens and, the cries of the innocent.

Fox could feel the force and hear the deafening blast of another explosion.

More screams of terror.

Fox rolled on his back and reached into his jacket.

He pulled out a silver auto-injecting syringe with a Star Fox emblem on it.

He jammed the needle into his neck and released the contents into his body.

Suddenly everything because clear, his vision, his hearing, and everything other sense that was dulled from the explosion.

_**Edited by Snake Of The Rose...**_

Fox climbed to his feet and pulled his blaster.

His mind was clear, but a overpowering feeling of rage came over him.

Something was moving in the corner of his eye.

His head snapped to the left to only see Falco stumbling to his feet as well.

_**Starring Fox McCloud...**_

Fox was breathing heavily, and had his teeth bared in anger, "You alright?!"

Falco drew his weapon, "Yeah I'm fuckin; fantastic, this...is some good shit." Falco tossed his own syringe to the ground.

On the other side of the street three black vans pulled up to the scene of chaos.

The doors on the ominous vehicles flew open, and fully armed gorillas pour out, randomly opening fire on the innocent bystanders still trying to either escape or help others that were injured.

There were about fifteen to twenty of them from what Fox could tell.

The two mercenaries located their previous vehicle and hid behind it for cover, they were yet to be spotted.

Fox reached for his ear, and activated his com-link, "Slippy! This is Fox! Do you copy!?"

A moment of static, then he finally got a response, "_This is Slippy! How ya doin Fox_?"

**_Slippy Toad..._**

"We just got caught up in a god damn attack on the downtown area of the city! We need some freaking air support! NOW!"

_"WHAT?! Oh geez! Uh....okay, got your position! Peppy is going to be your air support on his one guys. He will be there within five minutes!"_

"Roger that Slip, Fox out."

Fox peered around the side of their cover and saw the apes holding some sort of formation around their vehicles, shooting anything that moved.

Soon the police rolled up, an entire squad of ten squad cars followed by two swat trucks, only to be fired upon by the crazed apes.

Bullet holes were riddled throughout the cop cars, as windshields were blown out and the broken glass was soaked in blood.

Barely any of the peace officers were able to even get out of their vehicles before they were caught up in the barrage of bullets.

_**Falco Lombardi...**_

"Well Fox, I must say this has been one hell of a day, they could seriously make a god damn movie out of this shit." Yelled Falco.

Fox checked his blaster to make sure it was combat ready, and then made his way over to the trunk of the car.

"Fox, what are you doing?" Falco asked.

The vulpine managed to open the smashed in trunk, and pulled out a large duffle bag.

He quickly dodge back into cover with the bag. Lucky for them they were clear on the other side of the eight lane main street that ran through the heart of the city, safe from anyone's view on the other side.

Fox unzipped the bag and pulled out an MP5, and a M4 automatic shotgun.

He held a weapon in each hand, "Take your pick, it's all we got."

Falco's mouth hung open, "You fucking serious?! I didn't know we were gonna play, who can get shot in the face 1st, today!"

"Look, Peppy will swoop in, we clean up the stragglers. I think we can handle it! Now pick a gun!"

Falco snatched the shotgun from Fox's paw, "Any time you get to play hero, you always gotta take it."

"I just think it's time we did some good for once."

_**Peppy Hare...**_

_"Fox! This is Peppy! I'm about a minute away! I need a target!"_

"Uh roger that. You're target is three black vans, on the east side of the intersection we have been pinpointed at. It's surround by what has to be Andross guerrilla fighters."

_"Target confirmed! Take cover boys! I'll be approaching from the southwest!"_

The distant familiar sound of a screaming Arwing jet engine was slowing growing louder and louder.

Another RPG was fired from the roof top just behind Falco and Fox.

The explosive landed right in the middle of the squad of Police cars, sending flaming twisted metal through the air in the midsts of another fireball.

Fox and Falco's hearts were racing faster than they had ever felt before. Could be the drug that got them back on their feet, could be the anticipation of action, it didn't seem to really matter.

Then, with a deafening roar, the lone Star Fox Arwing soared over head and unleashed an onslaught of laser fire on the Andross guerrillas.

They scattered in all directions, most of them being cut down, others engulfed in the explosion of one of their own vehicles.

_**John McStacey...**_

Fox and Falco cheered in the demise of their enemies.

"Nice one Peppy!" Fox said over the com-link.

"Coming in for another pass! Watch your heads!"

Miles down the road they could see their fighter, now approaching from the north.

Then the sounds of another kind of rocket was heard.

_"SHIT I JUST GOT LIT UP!"_

A anti-aircraft rocket screamed from another near by roof top, and slammed into the Arwing.

The Arwing appeared to lose power, and then dropped right out of the sky.

"No, no! Just one rocket? That's impossible!"

"Shit he's coming right for us!" Falco yelled.

The Arwing slammed into the street a quarter mile away, breaking off one of the wings, and then tumbled and crashed through cars the littered the road. Civilians ran for cover in this makeshift war zone.

_**Aaron McStacey...**_

Fox and Falco watched in horror as the broken ship tumbled right through the intersection, and then finally came to a stop.

"PEPPY!!! NOO!!!" Fox ran for the flaming wreckage of the Arwing.

"FOX! WAIT!" Falco tried to grab the vulpine, but it was too late.

Now he was plain as day, an open target.

Someone near by was lining up their crosshairs over a panicked orange Fox.

Falco could see another ape standing upon a building across with an RPG launcher mounted on his shoulder.

_**And Fara Phoenix...**_

The avian whipped our his blaster, and took aim; it was an impossible shot. Falco closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

**STAR FOX: HOW WE SURVIVE**

**SEASON 2.**

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**Thanks again for reading! **


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